


Stellar Ranger Dark Star Series Three:  The Fallen Star

by GraciousVictory



Series: Stellar Ranger Dark Star [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Cute, Dark, F/F, F/M, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Lesbian Character, M/M, Magical Girls, Magical Violence, Trans Female Character, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2018-08-28 13:18:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 83,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8447422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraciousVictory/pseuds/GraciousVictory
Summary: It's June's freshman year at Solar City High, and she's greatly enjoying her quiet year after the turmoil of eighth grade and the battle against Lanessa.However, the peace and calm of the summer and autumn are cut short when unexpected guests arrive, and a star falls on Solar City.





	1. Episode 1:  The Day Before

The day before the star fell began like many days before it had.  June woke up, had a small panic attack, got dressed, and headed to Solar City High with Avril.  Auggie, Octy, Amber, Janice, Cassie, and Gemini met up with them just a few blocks later, with Gemini purposefully staying as far away from Auggie as was possible while they still walked together.

Senine and Faye met up with them just a block from school, like usual.

“Auggie, did you sleep at all last night?”  Cassie asked, giving her a critical look.

“Hey, new games don’t come out every day, Cass.  If I’m not farther than everyone else, someone’s gonna spoil that the bad guy’s the main character’s dad or something and then I’m going to have to reach through their computer screen and strangle them.”

“Like, it’s obviously the first girl you picked up?  Like, she’s trouble.”

“Amber, she has black hair.”

“Like, yeah?  That’s, like, what I mean?  She has, like, red highlights, too?”

“So people with black and red hair are trouble.”  Janice said, giving Amber a definitively teasing look.

“In, like, games?  I’ve, like, watched Auggie play enough?”

Auggie rolled her eyes.  “My character has black hair!”

“And, like, she’s trouble?  Plus, like, you made her?”

“Look.”  Auggie said.  “All I’m saying is, if a dad goes suddenly missing in a story like this, it’s plot important.”

“My sister does have a point.”  Octy nodded.  “Such details are always important.  If it does not come up, one may even be disappointed.”

Cassie smiled and nudged Octy.  “You and Auggie agreeing?  Clearly it is the end times.”

“Alas, I hear the first horseman galloping forth!  And the sound of trumpets, signaling the end of days!”

Janice glanced over at him.  “Is this the canon Horsemen set or the fanon one?”

“Hmm, hard to say!  Conquest has such power and majesty, but Pestilence has a definite lingering kick to it that’s hard to ignore.”

Senine glanced over at Avril.  “So, do you think I’m Death or War?”

“I am not playing the game that ends with you and Gemini arguing about who gets Death, which you are obviously intending to incite.”

“Aw, come on, Young Woman and the Sea, I want your opinion!”

“No.”  Avril gave her a flat look.  “I’m staying out of this.”

Senine pouted.  “You’re no fun.”

“I’m fun.”  Avril insisted.

“Nope.  Sorry, the judge, jury, and executioner has spoken.”

“At any rate.”  Gemini said.  “It’s not the end of the world.  Levey’s been doing videogames instead of things that are good for her.  That’s business as usual.”

“Oh, hey, guys!  My bestest friend Gemini is an expert on the end of the world!”

“Can it, Levey.”

Cassie and Janice were both staring at the two of them.  Amber grabbed her arm a bit tighter.  “Like, I keep telling her to, like, sleep, too?  The only time she’s, like, given it a pause is, like, when she made me play and she, like, watched?”

“So, Sparky likes to watch?”  Senine grinned.

“Oh, god, Senine.”  Auggie shook her head.  “Really?”

“Well...”  Cassie began.  “I have been a party to some confessions on my best friend’s part that--”

“Not another word, Cass.”  Auggie pointed at her.  “Or I spill double what you say.”

“Aw, is Levey a voyeur?”  Gemini grinned.  “So, who’re you thinking about?”

Amber started to say something, but June cut her off.  “Let’s just stop talking about fetishes?  We’re about to get on school grounds, and since we’re the intersection of both ‘the gay kids’ and ‘the weird kids’ and are actually ‘the eldritch kids’, I don’t really want more people getting more fuel to add to that and make us ‘the kinky kids’, too.”

“It sounds like June doesn’t want to talk about her fetishes.”  Janice said.  “Is anyone else getting that vibe?”

Everyone but June said some variation on, “Yeah” at roughly the same time.

June blushed, and pulled her parasol down over her head.  Faye clung to her side and nuzzled her face.

“I think your fetishes are probably great, Junie!”

“Faye, you aren’t helping.”

 

*****

 

“holy crap.”  Auggie texted June, once they were at their lockers.  “i cant believe she finally talked to me.”

“I’m pretty sure she was a little flirty, too.”  June texted back.  The halls of Solar City High had their usual hustle and bustle, though today was a bit less busy than normal.  A lot of people were crowded around the Office for a reason that did not seem, from their general attitude of curiosity and mild excitement, to be terribly important.  “It felt a little flirty.”

“right?  it was nice but also im not sure how ambers feeling about it.”

“For a second it almost seemed like she was playing along?  But I also think she might’ve been about to snap at her.”

“ive had that fantasy before”

June blushed.  “Is this fetish day for you?  Also, Amber and Gemini playing along or Amber snapping at Gemini?”

“both.”

“I’m kinkshaming.”

“rude.  : (  but anyway its a start you know?”

“Yeah.”  June put her phone away, and headed to class.

 

June shared homeroom with Cassie, Auggie, Amber, and Janice.  All five of them were staring ahead in shock as their homeroom teacher, Ms. Carlisle, introduced three new students to the class.

“Now, these young ladies will be staying with us for a few months, just until a few things get settled with their touring schedule.”  Ms. Carlisle looked excited, despite herself.

“Hello Solar City.”  Destiny March said with a huge grin, looking directly at June.

“It’s good to be here.”  Kismet March added, grinning at the students, many of whom stared at her with stars in their eyes, and also, the five Stellar Rangers in particular.

“We won’t cause too much of a disruption, Ms. Carlisle.”  Kara May said as she walked down the aisle and picked an empty seat that was behind Janice.  Kismet and Destiny found empty seats on either side of June.

June felt as though she had just been circled by sharks.

“I hope you’ll treat the Shining Stars--I mean, our new students, just like you would any other new student.”

 

Lunchtime was absolute chaos.

Everyone, even people who did not like the Shining Stars, was crowded around the table that now all of the Stellar Rangers were stuffed onto, save for Destiny, Faye, and June.

Veracity poked at her pizza, though she did not eat it.  “I told you this would be how it happened.  But did you listen?”

“Aw, I think it’s nice!”  Kismet looked to her adoring crowd, which was resisting the teachers’ urging to disperse.  “I could probably get a whole fanning me and feeding me grapes situation goin’ on, here.”

Kara was giving everyone her best smile.  Inwardly, she was screaming.  She wanted to leave, right now.  She was used to fans, yes, but she hated when they pressed against her back and held things in front of her.

“Welcome to my life.”  Janice said.  “It’ll die down in a week or two, but it never really stops.”

“Like...okay, like...am I the only one, like, who’s going to ask?”  Amber looked to the rest of her teammates.

“Later.”  Senine said from her spot next to Veracity.  Avril was on the other side of Veracity, trying to pretend like she was not glancing at the blind girl surreptitiously every chance she got.

“...Like, okay.”

“There’s too many people.”  Kara said, both in response to the question, and also, the general situation.  “I bet Destiny’s not dealing with this, right now.”

“I’ll take that bet.”  Veracity instantly said.

 

Everyone who was not at lunch was crowded around a tree, behind the school.  Sitting at the roots of this tree were June, Faye, and Destiny.

June had her hands over her ears as the crowd bombarded Destiny with questions, ranging from the standard of why she was in Solar City with the rest of the Shining Stars and if this was related to a new album with Janice, all the way to asking her out if she was not too busy.

Destiny watched this all with a bemused look.  Faye was giving June a concerned look, and June had her eyes down and her hands half over her ears, though one hand was pointing her parasol towards the sun.

“Hey!”  Destiny called, and waved her lunch at them.  “My friends and I could use some milks.  Could someone go get us a couple milks apiece?”

About half of the dozen or so people crowded around them ran back towards the school.

“Sorry, Junebug.”  Destiny patted her on the leg.  “Guess I’m a little more famous than I’d thought I’d be.”

June just nodded.  She was aware of Faye’s warmth wrapped around her, and of Destiny looking at the crowd and talking with them.

She was just starting to realize that the calm times were over.

 

*****

 

Stellar Ranger HQ had been finished over the past year.  Now, it was shaped very much like the old hospital had been.  Flanking all of the entrances, as well as the windows, were statues of the Stellar Ranger’s symbol, which was a starburst that greatly resembled a compass rose.  These acted much like the Stellar Ranger badges did, keeping people from really giving the building, or anything they saw in or around it, much thought.

 

After school, the Solar City Stellar Rangers and the Shining Stars sat in the small auditorium of the Stellar Ranger HQ.  June was utterly exhausted, and was slumped against her chair.  Faye was half in her lap, and clinging to her, and Destiny was sitting directly behind her and massaging her shoulders.

Leah, Ms. Kerberus, and Veracity were standing on the stage.  “Alright, girls, now that you’re all settled, we can begin.  Naturally, I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here.  It is, unfortunately, not just a social call.  Veracity has had a premonition of great danger to the planet.  Namely, she has seen that a meteor is going to fall on Solar City.  Tomorrow.”

Veracity nodded and stepped forward, as the assembled rangers began to murmur among themselves.  She drew a card, and showed it to the crowd.  It showed a girl in pink, sitting up in bed and holding her face in her hands, with nine axes on the wall behind her.  The quilt thrown over her legs was covered in a meteor shower pattern.  “There’s a meteor approximately five hundred meters in radius.”  She held up a second card.  “It’s going to fall right on Sun Lake.  If we don’t stop it,”  She turned the card around.  This showed the same girl, on the ground, with ten axes protruding from her back.  In the night sky behind her was a huge, fiery ball, falling towards the earth.  “Solar City will be destroyed outright by the impact.  With the size of the meteor, I would imagine that it’d cause a lot of damage to the rest of the country as well.”

“So, what.”  Senine said from her spot near the back.  “We take June out, she plays a song, obliterates the meteor, and we call it a day?”

“It’s not that simple.”  Ms. Kerberus said.  “According to Veracity’s divination, destroying the meteor will cause even greater devastation than letting it hit would.  Presumably, this is because its scattered shards will impact the land at a wide angle, like a shotgun of cosmic devastation.”

“That’s what I’m going to call my first album.”  Auggie whispered to Cassie, who let out a snort of laughter.  This earned her a dirty look from Ms. Kerberus.

Veracity held up a third card.  This one showed a girl with green hair, holding a black-hafted, white bladed scythe and walking among a field of corpses, while the sky burned behind her.

“I knew I was Death.”  Gemini muttered, turning to Senine and sticking out her tongue.

“Is that an offer, or....”

“Girls, please.  Focus.”  Ms. Kerberus said.  “We will be dividing into teams.  Janice, Kismet, Amber, Senine, and Octavian, you five will have the most important job--namely, using your powers to try to slow down the speed of the meteor as best you can, as well as reducing its tremendous heat. Cassie, you will be providing your assistance to them, in that you will use your powers to bolster them however you can.  June, would you be able to assist them in their task, at all?”

“I think so, yeah.”  June said, looking up.  “If I use a low powered, maybe wider song, I can maybe use the Penumbra to press against it rather than obliterate it.”

Ms. Kerberus nodded.  “Good, you will also be on that team, then.  Augusta and Faye, the two of you will be scouting the area around the lake and removing anyone who has ignored the evacuation warning, which the local authorities are serving right at this moment.  Get as many as you can to safety.  You will also be our eyes as the meteor touches down.  Let us know if there are any immediate threats as soon as you see them.”

“Right!”  Faye said.  “We’ll make sure everyone gets saved!”

“Our final team will consist of Destiny and Avril.  Your job will be to control the water as the meteor falls into it.  Even though it will be slowing greatly, should this all go according to plan, and even though the crater lake is more than deep enough to house the total mass of the meteor, it will still be displacing a lot of water.  I’m counting on the two of you to freeze it and directly control it to prevent flooding.  Kara, you can use some hard light barriers to help if you want, but don’t get yourself in too much danger.”

Kara tried to smile as best she could and nodded.

“Wait.”  Gemini said.  “Everyone else gets to do something, even Veracity saw this whole thing coming, what about me?”

Ms. Kerberus sighed.  “You’re going to be staying where I can keep an eye on you, Gemini.  You won’t be needed for this endeavor.”

“Like hell I won’t.”  Gemini pointed at Cassie.  “With her help, we can drain June’s energy into the ones slowing the thing down.  She’s got way more than we do, and that has way less risk than her finding the right song.  This way, we just boost the others while they use their powers at full burn for way longer than they’d be able to, before.”

Leah nodded.  “That’s a really good point, Gemini.  Aunt Natalie, let’s do that, it’s worked well for us in the past.”

“Hm.  I’m not sure how I feel about her freedom, let alone joining in on such a delicate operation as this.”

“I’m...sorry?”  Gemini began.

“You’re guilty of attempted murder, Gemini, as well as conspiracy to commit a number of rather heinous crimes.”

“Hey!”  Auggie stood up.  “Gemini saved Mr. Vember’s star heart from Lanessa!  She helped beat Baron Stellos!  She’s done a lot of really good stuff for us and she’s made up for it!”

“As the person Neil Gaiman’s Death tried to murder,”  Senine said, putting her feet up on the seat in front of her.  “I agree.  She’s been nothing but helpful when we need her the most.  I don’t think she’s going to try it again.”

“Y-yeah.”  Gemini said, sitting back down.  “What they said.”

“...Very well.”  Ms. Kerberus sighed again.  “I will give you a chance, as Novias did.  I guess he did know the situation better than I do.  Now, girls, you’re free to roam for the rest of the night, but I ask that you sleep in the quarters here, tonight, and go to bed no later than nine.  You have all been given class off, tomorrow--it’s already been arranged, so don’t concern yourselves with that.  I will be ordering food, so please come to me and give me your order before wandering off.  We will be waking up at five tomorrow morning, and from there, we will be immediately driving in the tour bus to the pier, where we will prepare for the arrival of the meteor.  It should come in range close to sunrise.  Are there any questions?”

There were no questions, and the girls both ordered food and wandered off in their own, small groups to gossip and prepare for the falling star, tomorrow.

 

*****

 

Kara sighed.  “Is it weird that I wish I was in more danger?”

“Well, I could always get Dezzy to freeze you ‘by accident’.”  Kismet said.  They were, with Janice and Gemini, sitting on a bed in one of the quarters.

“No.  Don’t do that.  Don’t ever do that.”

“I’m gonna do it.”

“I will feed your bass to a goat, Kizzy.”

“No, I understand, Kara.”  Gemini said from her spot in a chair.  Unlike the rooms at the Tower, the HQ quarters were all one person per room, and contained a bed, a desk, a nightstand, and two chairs, each.  “I really didn’t want to be left out.”

“I know that it makes sense.”  Kara looked down at her hands.  “It does.  But honestly, my hard light stuff can’t ever be too big.  It’s not going to be helpful at all.  Ms. Kerberus just wants me to feel useful.  She’s been doing this the whole time now that she knows I’m depressed.”

Kismet nodded.  “Yeah, she totes babies you.  But hey, you could drown!  Or get actually accidentally frozen!”

Kara gave her a bland look.  “You and Dezzy hurting me isn’t going to make me feel better.”

“You can’t prove that.”

“You dropped an amp on my toe and broke it.”

“Okay, so, you can prove it a bit.”

“Well,”  Janice said from her spot on a chair.  “It’s cool that Ms. Kerberus is finally showing some empathy?  Like, I really wasn’t sure she wasn’t gonna lock up Gemma.”

“Just so you know, if she tries, I might stab her.”

“Gemma, no.”

“Just a little.”

“No.”

Gemini crossed her arms over her chest.  “Guh, fine.”

Kara and Kismet glanced at each other.  Kara said, “She’s been a bit more delicate, since Mr. Vember died.  They were like, childhood friends.  On the same Stellar Ranger team.  And I think they might have dated at some point but it didn’t end up well.”

“So, basically, the only reason she’s taking it easy on me is, I saved her childhood crush?”

“Sorta.”  Kismet said.  “She’s been a lot easier on all of us, but especially Kara.”

Janice nudged Gemini.  “It’s gonna be okay.  Hey, you even had Auggie vouching for you, that’s pretty cool!”

Gemini blushed, and got a half-smile.  “Yeah, that was...pretty neat.”

Kismet got a wide smile.  “So  _ this _ was the drama you were hiding from Dezzy and I, last year!  You’re hot for Auggie.”

“Shut the fuck up your stupid fucking mouth.”

 

*****

 

“So, wait.”  Destiny began.  She was sitting at a bench in the HQ’s mess hall, next to Faye and June.  Cassie, Auggie, Octy, and Avril were also sitting at the table.  Not coincidentally at all, this was also the table upon which the food--pizza, appetizers, various sandwiches, and the like--had been deposited.  “I’m confused, why did Lanessa make the town, anyway?”

“I have a theory on that.”  Cassie said, perking up a bit at the chance to explain something.  “Star Hearts have a ‘light’ to them that is both literal and...less literal.  The literal light is, of course, a representation of the star with which it is connected.  However, the other sort of light is influenced by the emotions and such of the bearer.  I think that Lanessa deliberately made a location to attract people like Stellos--which she admitted to being responsible for--and also, as a convenient location to herd people with stars she wanted on Earth.”

“Basically,”  Auggie chimed in, “no one really questions suddenly getting the urge to go to one of the safest, happiest, and cleanest cities in the country, even when it’s planted into them by a horrible space bitch.”

“Well, safe aside from monster attacks.”  June said between slices of pizza.  “And meteors.  It’s a lot less safe if you’re a Stellar Ranger.  We’re lucky that the Savage Stars weren’t willing to hurt civilians like Stellos was.”

“It’s suspicious.”  Avril said from her spot, near the end of the table.

“No, I think they just had a sense of honor.”

“No, I mean.”  Avril shook her head.  “The meteor.”

“So you get that too, huh?”  Destiny frowned.  “Yeah, it is.  I don’t know a bunch, but I do know that Veracity’s been having nightmares, lately.  This premonition was one of them.  I am fully prepped for this to be way way worse than just a cataclysmic meteor.”

June groaned.  “Noooo, can’t it just be a meteor?”

“Oh no!”  Faye said, and then turned to June.  “Junie, your hair!  You’re gonna need to go Penumbral!”

“Oh.”  June sighed, and then slumped onto the table.  “I just got used to my head being cool and light, too.”

“Wait, so....your transformation makes your hair all long again?”  Destiny asked, her eyes wide and her voice hopeful.  “Damn, girl...any way I can see it?”

June thought about it for a few moments and then stood up.  She walked away from the rest of the tables in the cafeteria and said, “Okay, sure.  Might as well get it over with.”

In truth, June was not doing it because Destiny had asked for it.  In truth, the desire to summon the Penumbra had been clawing at the back of her head for months, urging her to let the weapon have some freedom.  It was an itch she had not scratched until today.

Black and white fire gathered around her chest.  June grabbed it, and pulled the Penumbra from her chest.

Her hair was long, again, and was in a pair of pigtails.  Her hair was half black and half white, split right down the middle.  One of her eyes was a white ring in a field of black, while the other was a black ring in a field of white.  She had a long coat on, which has half black, and half white, emblazoned by a sunburst on her back that was half white, and half black.  She wore a sleeveless white top under it, and a pleated black skirt, which was just above knee-height on her.  Black and white leggings formed on her legs, and she now had one tall black boot and one tall white boot.  From her ears were a pair of earrings, both sunbursts, one black and one white.  In the upper center of her top, a circle of black points appeared.

And, of course, slung around her shoulder was a black and white guitar, with tuning keys that looked like blades that crackled with energy.

Destiny’s eyes went wide.  “I.  Uh.  Hold on hold on I need to text the others.”

June looked down at her outfit.  “Oh!  It looks like it changed a bit?  I don’t think this design was here before.  Cool!”

Destiny put down her phone and stood up, walking all around June, taking her transformation in.  “That’s...you have like, an actual magical girl transformation.  That’s...that’s the coolest thing.  I want a magical girl transformation.”

“It’s pretty cool.”  June’s fingers brushed against the tuning keys, and she gave the strings an experimental strum.  It did not obliterate anything, just let out a low thrum of power that reverberated through the room.

“...Wow.”  Destiny muttered, in obvious awe.

She ogled June for a bit longer before her sister, Kara, Janice, and Gemini entered the room.  KIsmet’s eyes went wide, and she rushed over.  “Holy--She’s like...like a real magical girl.”  

Destiny grinned at her.

“I wasn’t  _ jealous _ of you two’s maybe thing until now, wow.   _ I _ want a magical girl costume.  I am totally going to design us a magical girl costume.  I need my sketchpad.”  Kismet rushed off to grab her art tools.

Kara had not moved.  She was staring at June.

June saw this and turned to her.  “Oh.  Kara.  Sorry.  Is this...”

“Pft.”  Kara forced a flippant smile, and walked past June to the food table, grabbing a sandwich and sitting on the edge of it.  “Black and white?  So not my colors.  I like things that are a bit more eye popping.  But it looks great on you, naturally.”

June let the Penumbra dissipate, and fire washed over her.  When it was gone, she was as she was before, same for, once more, having waist length hair.

Destiny lifted a length of June’s thick, white hair.  “It’s real...it just grows out in an instant.”  Her voice was still full of wonder.

KIsmet bolted back, and then sat down at the table.  “Aw, it’s gone already?”

“What, sis, your imagination isn’t good enough?”

Faye grabbed June and nuzzled into her thick mane of hair.  “This looks good on you, too, you know?”

“Thanks.  It feels good, too?  It’s the hair I spent my whole life growing, without having to wait another fifteen years for it to grow back.”  June relaxed into Faye.  “And....it’s nice to have the Penumbra around, again.  Sometime when it’s not end of the world time, I mean.  I’ve missed it over the past...wait, like, eleven months?  Holy crap.”

“And hopefully, after tomorrow, you won’t need it again for another eleven months!”

“Yeah.  Hopefully.”

Auggie looked around.  “Where’s Amber, anyway?  I haven’t seen her since the ‘how-doomed-we-are’ meeting.”

“Oh!”  Faye peeked from around June, through a curtain of June’s hair, which Destiny had draped over her.  “She’s busy!  She had a thing she wanted to ask Veracity!”

Kismet and Destiny shared a look.  Janice furrowed her brow.  “Wait, what does Amber need to talk to Veracity about?”

 

*****

 

Amber rehearsed her questions as she stood just a corridor away from where she had heard Veracity and Senine talking.  Her stomach was twisting into knots in her stomach, and her heart was thumping like a damaged engine.

She had been here for about half an hour, waiting for her nerve to be summoned.  She had no idea how to talk to people on this best of days, at least, not without offending them.

Amber took a deep breath, and looked down at her phone, again.  She had a number of websites pulled up--a dictionary with the article on ‘polyamory’ pulled up, an article on a blog called ‘dealing with jealousy’, a few blog posts about polyamorous and polygamous relationships, and, lastly, an article on asexuality, which she had found primarily by clicking around for a while.

“My.”  A voice behind her said.  “That’s an awful lot of articles you have there.”

Amber jumped and spun around, ready to summon her rifle.

She did not need to shoot the person, however, because the person there was Veracity.  Senine was leaning against a nearby wall.

“Really, Veri, that was a little theatric.  Six out of ten.”

Veracity shook her head.  “I love being theatric!  Anyway, you have something you want to ask us.  Well, me in specific.”

“Like!”  Amber began, but found it hard to follow up.  She backed up and hit the wall of the corner.  “Like...I just.  Like...I’m, like....”

“You’re confused.”  Veracity sat on a nearby windowsill and motioned for Amber to sit next to her.  She did not.

“Like...Yeah, I like, guess?”

“What’s up, Rusty?”  Senine asked, walking over to lean next to Veracity.  “Hope you don’t mind that I’m here, I’m just hanging around with my future girlfriend.”

“It won’t be long, now.”

“Sure, Crystal Ball.”

“I...like...”  Amber took a deep breath.  “I’ve, like, been reading?  Because, like....like.  Sorry, like, I like...”

“You have trouble saying things, so you fill the void with the word like.”  Veracity gave her a patient nod.  “I understand, it’s fine.  Take your time, there’s still another eleven or so hours before the star falls.”

“Like...I like Auggie, and I’m, like, with Auggie, but I’ve never, like, liked anyone before?  And...I think I only, like, like Auggie?  Maybe I’d like someone else?  If, like, I knew them, like, a long time?  And like, like, ever since Gemma, like, said she was sorry, which was, like, this big thing--”

“You don’t need to explain, I get it completely.  I know what she said, and what it meant to Auggie.”

“Like, okay.  So, like....Auggie, like, cares about the Schumachers more than, like, anybody?  But, like...I don’t, like, want to lose Auggie?  She’s, like...she’s like all I have?  I, like can’t even, like, talk to my little sister?  Like...like Auggie’s been so nice to me, and, like...like if she, like, wants to be with, like, Gemma?  I don’t, like....want to, like...tell her no.  So, like, I want to, like, stop being jealous?  And, like, maybe, like, tell her about this, like, polyamory thing?  Which, like, I heard, like, you were into?”

“Oh snap, Rusty.”  Senine said.  “You are always way, way cooler every time I learn something new about you.”

“You want the poly talk.  And you sort of want the ace talk but don’t even know how to ask for it.”

Amber gave her a flustered nod.

“Then step into my office, my sweet September sister, and let’s talk.”

 

*****

 

The roof of the HQ was not nearly as good for brooding as the roof of the Tower had been.  There were not even benches to sit in for brooding.  On top of that, the roof had some rather unpleasant associations for most of the Rangers, even though most of it was not even the same roof that Lanessa had been fought on, so many months ago.

The courtyard also had some bad associations, but it was much quieter, much calmer, and had a fountain that tended to remind the Stellar Rangers of the Tower, so it had become much more popular for brooding than the roof ever had been.

June sat on the lip of the fountain in the courtyard, looking up into the starry autumn sky. She could not see the falling star, yet.  It was only around ten, which meant, by all rights, she should have been in bed hours ago.

Something gnawed at her, however.  Destiny was right, this falling star was something beyond what they thought it was.  It had to be related to yet another attempt to capture the Penumbra and mess with her, directly.

The Blue Stars of Mourning shimmered with their own light, under the full moon.  June did not want to look at them.  They kept popping up, ever since the defeat of Lanessa, no matter how many times she tried to destroy them.  Malcolm’s blog, which was becoming ridiculously popular, said they were an alien flower, seeded by the attack of the shadowy giant, nearly a year ago.  It was not entirely wrong.

“This is a seriously magical moment.”  Said someone behind June.

June turned, and saw one of the March twins walk into the courtyard.  She brightened up a bit.  “Dezzy?”

“Nope, sorry.”  Kismet said as she stepped into view and the redness of her eyes was apparent.  She walked through the flowers, looking down at the Blue Stars of Mourning with a wide smile.  “This is really damn pretty, though.”

“It’s....”  June frowned.  “I guess I can see that.  They just remind me of Her.”

“Oh.  Right.  Evil space vampire flowers, gotcha.”  Kismet sat on the edge of the fountain, with June.  “Can’t sleep either?”

June nodded.  “I just know this is going to be about me, somehow.”

“Wow, self-centered, much?”

June gave her a bland look.

“Kidding!  I’m kidding.  And bad at empathy.”

June sighed, and looked back up at the sky.  “Stellos, the Puppetrix, and Lanessa were all here for me and the Penumbra.  Every time something bad happens here, it’s about me.”

“That....sucks?  That sounds like it sucks.”

“It sucks and it makes me...I don’t know, afraid of the Penumbra?  But more...afraid of what it means.  What it brings.  Not just destruction, but also, all of these...these monsters.  Monsters and people who act like monsters.  They’re always looking for me, for the Penumbra.”

“Again, sucks.”  Kismet looked up at the sky, with her.  “But, hey!  You got us here, now, right?  There’re almost too many Stellar Rangers around now, you know?  We’ll beat up anything that comes looking.  Especially since you guys are even stronger than you used to be when you beat up the last bad guy.”

“Yeah.”  June said, though she did not sound convinced.  “You’re right.”

Kismet stood up and patted June on the arm.  “Come on, get some sleep.  We can worry about tomorrow’s problems when it’s tomorrow.”

“Right.”  June looked back down and slid off the fountain.  “Tomorrow.”

She headed to a fitful sleep, all the while the dread in her growing.

After all, the star was going to fall just a couple hours after she would wake up.


	2. Episode 2: The Fall

    The day had opened with Ms. Kerberus and Leah herding the Stellar Rangers out of bed and to the tourbus.  The bus had been stocked with several bags of fast food breakfast, which the girls had munched on all the way to the pier.

    The sky was still dark when the girls reached the pier, though the sky at the edge of the horizon was slowly turning from black to grey.  The streets were never terribly busy, at this time of night, but the caution tape surrounding the pier and the ominous signs posted on every street going towards the waterfront that warned of a dangerously high flood chance meant that the tour bus was driving on empty streets, to a parking lot that was devoid even of early risers, preparing for a day of business on the boardwalk.

    “You said this was a crater lake.”  Janice said as she stepped off the bus.  It was a very familiar feeling, and one a part of her had missed.  “What made it?  It’s not gonna anger an old volcano or something under the city, is it?”

    “No, Janice.”  Ms. Kerberus stepped off the bus.  Leah was beside her, and looked a little sad at the mention of the lake.  “That was...”

    “It’s where my mom was overwhelmed by the Penumbra.”  Leah finished, walking out onto the sidewalk.  “That’s why it’s so big and deep.  It’s where the Penumbra just...annihilated everything in a really, really wide area.”

    “Holy shit.”

    “Language, Kismet.”  Ms. Kerberus led them out into the parking lot.

    June walked out onto the grass, looking up at the sky.  Veracity stepped up next to her and pointed up.  “There.”

    June followed the blind girl’s finger, and saw a particular dot of light, almost directly above them, that indeed looked to be slowly getting bigger.

    “We can only see it because the sun is reflecting off of it.  It’s approaching at around a hundred thousand miles per hour.”  Veracity said.  “Once it hits the atmosphere, it will slow considerably and heat up as friction begins to build against it.  Parts of it will be immediately vaporized.  If it hits the ground at full speed, the force of the impact will be many times stronger than an atomic bomb.”

    June nodded.  “It’s not going to.”

    Veracity smiled.  “I suppose it probably won’t, no.”

 

    It was about an hour later, and the approaching meteorite was now clearly visible in the sky, larger than the moon and getting larger as the Stellar Rangers watched.  It was red hot with friction and on its current course, it was, indeed, shooting right for Sun Lake.

    June was in her Penumbral form, standing behind Senine, Kismet, Amber, Janice, and Octy.  The five of them had their hands linked, and were staring up at the approaching object.  Gemini and Cassie were standing to either side of her, and had their arms out.  White sparks drained away from June and into the others, as June played an easy, slow song that pressed very slightly against the meteorite with a force mostly powered by her darkness.  She had a feeling that her energy was actually doing more work than she was.

    Leah, Auggie, Faye, Avril, Destiny, and Kara were all standing on the boardwalk.  As the meteor got bigger and bigger, Leah retreated back to the other group, and summoned the Vibrant Aegis, which she planted down in front of them.  Faye’s arms turned to eagle wings, and she flapped up into the sky.  She started to circle around the lake, looking for any sign of people still there.  Auggie zipped off with a crack of thunder that shook the nearby buildings, zooming under the boardwalk, just in case any homeless people were still there.

    Destiny was still looking up at the meteorite.  “So....have any ideas?”

    Avril nodded.  “I’m going to break the surface tension of the water and try to pull it away from the impact and cover it afterwards.  That should make it make less of a splash when it hits, but, it’s still going to hit with a lot of force, and it’s a kilometer wide.  No matter what I do, all that water needs to go somewhere.”

    “Hm.  Well, in that case, could you start pulling the water up on the sides?  I’ll freeze it into an ice dam, that’ll at least buy us some time while we think of something to do with it.”

    Avril lifted her hands, and started to pull water out of the lake, up into walls as was asked.  Kara watched this, and then formed hard light walls, holding them in place while Destiny got to them.

    “Woah, great idea, Kara!”  Destiny nudged her.

    Kara shrugged.  “It’s not much.  You don’t need me here.”

    “Actually.”  Avril began as she started to lift more walls of water.  “It’s making the whole process less taxing for me.  We’ll get this done faster thanks to you, and I’ll be stronger for the actual fall.”

    “Oh.”  Kara smiled.  “Good.”

    “So, this lake is very large.”  Avril frowned.  “How do we get to the parts on the other side of the lake?”

    As if on cue, a very large creature, shaped something like a horse and made of bands of oily metal, galloped up to them.  Kara smiled at it.  “It looks like Ms. K is providing our ride.”

 

    The meteor was huge in the sky, now.  Its burning surface filled the planet below with red light and was emanating heat even from here.

Amber and Janice were straining, now, actively feeling the rock and metal and forcing it up, against its massive, inexorable fall.  They could not even tell if they were slowing it enough, could not even see any progress they were making.

    Janice was also working with Kismet to pull at the heat from the massive mass of metal and rock.  Again, they could not feel if they made progress, they only knew it was hot, and it was coming lower.

    The winds around the meteor condensed and pressed up against the kilometer-wide edifice.  While this was helping to slow it by increasing friction, it was causing it to heat up even more because of it.  Chunks of rock and metal were ripping from the meteorite and melting away, but it was still so incomparably large.

    Senine had one hand raised.  She was crackling with purple energy, and the light around her had dimmed.  The meteorite was falling, but, unlike the others, Senine knew it was falling at a slower rate.  She could feel its weight, and the power by which the Earth called it down towards it.  It would land safely--or, at least, what she thought was safely.  The force of gravity and the property of mass both told her so.

    Cassie and Gemini were completely absorbed by their task.  Energy flowed through them, and energy entered the others.  They could not do anything but focus completely on their task, because to do otherwise would mean flooding themselves with antilight.

    Avril was bareback on a charging steed, with Kara and Destiny’s arms around her middle, completely and totally aware of exactly how gay she was.  The walls of ice were almost finished, but, now, they had no time to stop to complete them.  All three of them were exhausted, with Avril and Kara working in almost perfect concert, and Destiny freezing the walls a moment later.

    Faye and Auggie pushed a bewildered homeless man out of the flood line.  He had been sleeping under one of the benches on the boardwalk, and he was groggy, in addition to slightly bewildered due to the effects of the badges on the two Stellar Rangers.  Auggie then zipped back, while Faye took flight once more.

    June was staring at the meteor.  There was a thrum in her head, pulsing louder the longer she played.

    She could not look away from the meteor.  There was something about it that made the feeling of dread that filled her only get stronger.  She said something, something in a guttural language that did not get translater by the spell covering the badges that translating things like that.

    The song she had been playing, an easy, steady song, began to shift to a different one, a more insistent song.  Without realizing what she was doing, June turned the distortion up on the Penumbra.

    The meteorite was closer, now.  It was about a third as wide as the lake, and on its slowed descent, it was almost pressing down, into the lake.  Avril gestured her hand, and the water rippled and pulled away from it.  She could not get it all, however, and steam jetted up from the lake in big clouds.  Destiny waved her hands, and cold made the steam condense almost as soon as it evaporated, which almost immediately returned to steam as it cooled the meteor further..

    Senine swayed on her feet, and lifted both hands over her head.  It was working.

    Amber could feel the metal, now, much more metal than she had thought it would be.  Thick, dense metals of alloys not available on earth.  She had been pushing so hard that she was about to pass out.

    The shocks and reverberations throughout the meteorite also ran through Janice.  It was stable, despite the problems, and while it was still very hot, it was nowhere near as hot as it would have been otherwise.

    Kismet felt the heat well up inside her.  She held it down and pressed it away, but she felt like she was about to burst into flames.  There was so much heat, even though she had done her job admirably.  Too much heat.

    Octy withdrew the windwall in order to buffet the meteorite with sprays of steam and water.  

    The meteorite sunk into the waterline.  Avril let the water cover it, now.  It splashed up, over the ice walls.  Steam shot up in massive clouds, which Octy and Destiny cooled into freezing rain back down onto it.

    Auggie stopped what she was doing, which was mostly just running around.  Faye landed next to her and gave her a curious, slightly worried look.

    “Did Junie’s song change?”  She asked.  Faye nodded.

    “Yeah!  It sounds almost like...”

    Both Faye and Auggie recognized the song at the same time.  Faye took to the air and flew towards her, while Auggie zoomed across the beach towards where the first team was located.

    The tuning blades shot out of the bottom of the Penumbra and began to spin.  Energy started to gather in front of her.  The attack was pointed straight ahead, and, if fired, would burn through the Stellar Rangers in front of her before it hit the falling star.  June’s eyes were locked on the meteorite.  She did not see anything but it.  She could not feel anything but it, and a dread and an anger that were not her own.

    Auggie zoomed by and pulled the guitar away from June.  Faye swooped by a moment later and tackled June to the ground.  The Dark Star Finale dispersed, and the Penumbra burst in a shower of black and white sparks.  Auggie let out a pained cry as it burned her through her shirt.

    Faye looked down at June, but June was just muttering, her eyes blank, and her whole body shaking.  “Junie?!  Junie, what’s wrong?!”

    The battery for their work having been suddenly jerked away, the others could no longer slow the descent of the meteorite.  It sank into the water with a sudden jerk, sending large waves up the sides of the ice wall that would have caused serious flooding if the had they not all suddenly frozen.

    Destiny fell off of the horse.  Kismet saw this through woozy eyes, and called out, “Dezzy!”

    Destiny was saved, however, when Avril dove of the horse-construct with her, grabbing her around the middle and hitting the ground rolling.

    Senine fell to her knees, and then passed out.  Kismet stumbled away from the others, relieved that Destiny was safe but also, unable to contain heat any longer.  She let out a massive jet of fire out of her mouth, into the air over the lake.  Janice swooned but did not fall over.  Amber picked up the slack, however, falling right into Janice and causing her to half catch-half fall over with her.  Octy fell onto his rear, and then onto his back.

    The meteorite sank into the water.  It could barely be seen, under the massive clouds of steam coming from it.  The new waterline looked to be almost over the top of the frozen walls, which were already beginning to melt.  

    Ms. Kerberus rushed over to Faye and June.  “What happened?  Why did you tackle June?  We almost had it without incident.”

    “She was...”  Faye frowned.  “She was doing a Dark Star Finale, it’s a real big attack!  It woulda blasted that meteor up, and a lot of us with it!”

    Ms. Kerberus frowned.  “June, why would you do that?”

    June did not answer, she could not.  She did not even seem to see Ms. Kerberus, or even Faye.

    “Something’s wrong.  She’s not responding!”

    Cassie and Gemini both snapped out of their trances at the same time.  They looked around, and both immediately rushed to Auggie, kneeling next to her.

    “Auggie, what...”  Cassie frowned, and then immediately used what little energy she had left to heal Auggie.  Gemini followed suit, pulling some of Auggie’s burns away and applying them to herself.

    “Uggggh.”  Auggie groaned.  “Remind me to never to touch Junie’s guitar ever again.”

    The meteorite sank under the waves fully, and all the way to the bottom of the deep, dark lake.

    June’s face went blank, and she lost whatever consciousness she had left.

 

    The steam eventually petered out, and the frozen walls melted, a little at a time.  Thanks to the efforts of Kismet, Avril, Octavian when he awakened, and the meteor’s own residual heat, the bulk of the displaced water was sent into the atmosphere, and what remained was directed off into the uninhabited areas of the far shore rather than into Solar City proper.  There were a lot of dead fish, on the surface of the water, after that--an unfortunately necessary casualty, and the extent was not as terrible as it would have been had the asteroid come down at its highest heat.

    The meteorite had settled, mostly harmlessly, on the floor of Sun Lake.

 

*****

 

    When June woke up, she realized she was in the infirmary.  She tried to sit up, and was then aware that she was strapped down to it.

    “You’re awake.”  Ms. Kerberus said as she stepped into view.  “Good.  Maybe you can tell me what happened?”

    “Where...I don’t understand.”

    “Leah and Faye both wanted to be here--all of them did, really, but they’re biased.  I am not.”  Ms. Kerberus sat on a chair beside June’s bed.  “And I know these restraints don’t mean terribly much to you, but I’d appreciate it if you did not try to break free.”

    “Ms. Kerberus I don’t understand why I’m tied up.”

    “Do you remember the meteor, June?”

    June shook her head.  “No, I...I don’t?  That’s...that’s really weird, why don’t I remember the meteor?”

    “You had an...episode of some kind.  You began to play the Penumbra in what I’m told is the Dark Star Finale.  You were aiming directly at the meteor, even when you would hit the other Stellar Rangers with it.”

    June gave Ms. Kerberus a horrified look.  “I...I did _what_?”

    “You nearly killed your friends, June.  You were unresponsive.  Augusta had to rip the Penumbra from your hands.  She was badly injured when doing so, by the way.”  Ms. Kerberus frowned.  “They are, understandably, a little shaken up.  Were it not for the efforts of Faye and Augusta, you may have unleashed an incredible amount of devastation, and that’s not even counting the whatever destroying the object itself could have done.”

    “I’m...I’m so sorry.  Are they okay?  Is Auggie okay?”  Panic was edging into her voice.  She could hardly breathe.

    “Augusta is fine.  She and Gemini are now both slightly singed.  Destiny had a fall, but Avril prevented it from being too serious.  They’re both bruised.  Everyone is exhausted, especially because their power source was ripped from them at the last moment.”

    June winced.  “I’m sorry, Ms. Kerberus.  I need to tell them I’m sorry.  I’ve...I haven’t lost control.  Not in, in years.  Not since all the stuff with Baron Stellos.  I sincerely don’t know what happened.”

    “I’m going to let you up.”  Ms. Kerberus said.  “And then I’m going to take you to your room, here.  I would like you to stay here for the next couple of days, just so I can keep you under observation.  It’s the weekend, so you won’t need any excuses for school.  Novias believed in you, and I would like to, too.  I would also ask that you, under no circumstances, ever go to anywhere near the meteor, not until we know more about it.  Do you understand?”

    June nodded.  “Yeah, I do.  Are they...mad at me?”

    “No, they’re mostly worried.  Are you positive you don’t remember anything?”

    June paused.  “I don’t remember anything in specific.  I just remember a lot of fear?  Like, I remember being absolutely terrified.  I don’t know why, everything was going okay, right?”

    “It went extremely well, yes.”

    “....I’m sorry, Ms. Kerberus, that’s all I know.”

    Ms. Kerberus unlocked June from the chair, and she immediately sat up.  She looked down at her fingers, the ones that had almost done something horrible not too long ago.

    Ms. Kerberus led June out of the infirmary.  As soon as they had left the room, Leah, Destiny, Faye, Auggie, and Janice were there, around her.

    “June, are you okay?”  Leah asked.  “Is everything okay?  What happened?”

    “I will tell you about it later.”  Ms. Kerberus said.  “Away from prying, eager ears.”

    “June....”  Leah locked eyes with her.  “Are you okay?  Really?”

    “I don’t know.”  June gave her a sad, confused look.  “I don’t know what happened.  I’m so, so sorry it did.  I lost control and I don’t even know why.”

    Faye’s eyes went wide.  “Oh, Junie--!”  She tried to run up to her, but a looming figure of oily, banded metal stood between them, now.

    Ms. Kerberus had a dark red and black riding crop in her hand.  The looming creature pushed everyone but Leah away, gently but also insistently.

    “June is going to be in solitary confinement until Sunday afternoon, assuming she does not have any other episodes.”  Ms. Kerberus insisted.  “Please don’t push the matter.”

    “But, Ms. K, that’s not fair!”  Destiny shouted and stomped her feet.  The air got chillier as she did so.  “She had some weird thing happen!”

    “A weird thing in which she nearly, accidentally, without being aware of it, nearly utterly annihilated your sister.”  Ms. Kerberus said.  “I’m not forcing this, children.  She is coming willingly, and is honestly quite terrified of what happened, herself.”

    “I am.  Look, I’ll see you guys later, okay?”  June started down the hall.  “Just...just stay away from me for now.”

    Faye visibly drooped.  Destiny patted her on the back, but Faye pulled away, and then ran down the hall in the other direction, out of view.

    “Faye-Faye!”  Auggie called.  “Oh, man, I should go get her.”  There was a sound like a crack of thunder, and Auggie was gone, after Faye.

    Destiny looked after Faye, and then towards June.  Janice put a hand on her arm.

    “This sucks.”  Destiny growled.

    “Yeah, Dezzy, I know.  Let’s go get some food, okay?”

    “...You know I’ll see you right when you get out!”  Destiny called after June.  “That’s a promise!”

    June was led into her room, not sure how to react to any of what was just said.  She sat down on her bed, put her face in her hands.  She felt like she should sob, but she could not bring herself to.  She had no idea how to sort all of her feelings, no frame of reference for what, exactly, she needed to do or could do, now.  

    In the back of her head, she still felt a faint pulse of fear, fear she had no direction for, and fear she knew, somehow, would not be going away.

 

*****

 

    The training room of the HQ was almost completely mundane, making it worse in almost every way to the training room the Tower had had.  Still, it had a large assortment of equipment with which to train on, including a supply of punching bags that had been purchased in bulk.

    Faye was here, sitting in the far corner, behind a pile of destroyed punching bags.  She was rocking back and forth, crying very hard and sobbing loudly.

    There was a rush of air and a crack of thunder, and Auggie was in the center of the training room.  She glanced around for a moment, and then ran over to Faye.  “Faye!  Faye-Faye, are you okay?”

    Faye sniffled, and turned to Auggie.  “N-no...”

    “Oh, sweetie. C’mere.”  She knelt down and hugged her.  Faye immediately hugged back.

    “W-why can’t I ever help her!?”  Faye sobbed.  “Why aren’t I enough?!”

    “No one can help everyone all the--”

    “I never can help her!  Every time it’s a real problem, I’m useless!  I’m just some stupid girl who’s pretty and holding on her but I’m useless!”  Faye lowered her head, and wiped her tears away.  “I’m useless.”

    “No, you’re not!  You’re not.”  Auggie nudged her.  “You’re not useless.  Without you, heck, we were all ready to just let Lanessa blast us!  You kept up hope, remember?  And you’re a super tough fighter.”

    “But...she’s...she’s always hurting.”

    “And you make her hurt less.  I promise.”  Auggie nudged her.  “This really bothers you, huh?”

    Faye nodded. “It’s...it’s why I’m not a hundred percent, about, you know, dating Destiny, too.  Because...because maybe I’m not good enough?  And Destiny’s better.  She has things in common with Junie.  I don’t.  I’m just...just a silly stupid cheerleader and what if Junie decides she wants Destiny alone because I’m useless?”

    “She won’t.  That’s not Junie.  And it’s not just about having things in common!  I don’t have a bunch in common with Amber, but, we’re finding some common ground.  I even corrupted her enough to play games with me.”

    “I want...I wanna be good enough for Junie.  I wanna feel like I’m good enough for Junie.  I love her.  I love her with everything I have and I want her to love me to but I don’t want to say it, because what if she doesn’t?”  She looked at Auggie with hopeless eyes.  “What if she doesn’t?”

    “She will.  And you don’t have to tell her, I bet she knows!”  Auggie smiled at her.  “Junie has a tough time, but that doesn’t mean you don’t mean anything to her!  She’s depressed, Faye-Faye.  No one can stop that, we just need to give her time so she can feel better!  And what happened _was_ really scary, it must be scarier to be her, y’know?  Almost doing something like that and not remembering it?”

    “Yeah...yeah.”  Faye sighed.  “Thanks, Auggie.  I just want to take all this away from her.  I wish I had the Penumbra instead of her.”

    Auggie’s smile turned into a grin.  “I think that’s the first time someone could say that to her and she’d be happy.  Hey, Faye-Faye....you think you should see Ms. Clack, next time she’s down?  She’s helped me a lot, she might help you, too.”

    “The therapist mantis lady?”

    Auggie nodded.

    “Oh....I mean I guess I could, if you think it’ll help!”

    Auggie squeezed her, and settled into leaning against her.  “It definitely could.”

 

*****

 

    “I get you’re sad, sis.”  Kismet said from where she paced, in the cafeteria.  “I do!  I know you like June and Faye and all of that, but, holy hell, Dezzy, she almost nuked me.  That’s a little more important than feelings.”

    “That sucks, yeah.”  Destiny frowned.  “But we should do something to make her feel better, right?  She shouldn’t be locked up in frigging quarantine!”

    “Yeah, I agree with Firefly.”  Senine said from her spot against the wall.  “I’m worried about June, too, but we need to know if this is going to happen again, and why it happened.  Plus, she’s only in there until Sunday.  She loses her weekend, yeah, but given the situation that’s probably the best outcome.”

    “...I agree, too.”  Cassie grudgingly said.  “As much as it’s painful to imply that I don’t trust June’s self control.  We could’ve lost Auggie when she saved us.  June’s never lost control like this, before.  Even when the Puppetrix had her, she was not like this.”

    “Which is why we should head out to that meteor right now!”  Janice added, gesturing emphatically.  “We need information on why Junie freaked the hell out, and we need it immediately.”

    Gemini stood up and stood beside Janice.  “Let’s get the research buddies researching, then!”

    “That,”  Destiny said.  “I can agree with.”

    “You guys are being dumb.”  Kara said from her spot at the other end of the tables.

    Everyone turned towards her, each with some amount of shock, save for Veracity.

    “What the hell, Kara?”  Kismet had her hands on her hips.  “I wanna learn what almost got me nuked.”

    “That’s why you’re being dumb!”  Kara sighed.  “Look, I’m curious, too, but this is something that scared, what, the Penumbra?  Nemesis?  Into firing on her own friends!  We can’t just walk up to that!”

    “She does have a point.”  Octy said where he was sitting on the edge of a nearby table.  “We need more of a plan than rushing out to try to find something in the lake.  Perhaps we should let Ms. Kerberus’s constructs search, for now, just until we know whether or not proximity is hazardous.”

    “But...my love.”  Cassie replied.  “We cannot let something like that gain power.”

    “Something like what?”  Kara said, standing up.  “As far as we know, it could only be dangerous if we were right at the meteor!  You could just be going there to die or worse, end up scared like June!”

    “...Maybe.”  Avril began, and then stopped.  

    Everyone turned to look at her.

    “...Care to share it with the class, H20?”  Senine asked.

    “...Could it be that whatever did it was trying to get June to destroy the meteor?”

    “It’s a possibility.”  Veracity said from where she had been laying out tarot cards, face down.  “One of the ones that my divinations have revealed.  They also say,”  Veracity held up a card, that showed a girl with red-streaked black hair, walking off a ledge, into a deep, dark abyss of water with some insidious, glowing force coming from deep inside.  The card was marked with the Number 0, “that to go there now would be a grave error.”

    “...What’re the other possibilities?”  Kismet asked.

    Veracity shrugged.  “Oh, I’m not sure” she lied, burying any confusion or fear she was feeling, “they’re not clear enough, yet.”

 

    After the group had dispersed somewhat, Kismet walked up to Avril, who was just about to break off with Senine and Veracity. “Hey, can I talk to you for a sec.”

    Senine patted her on the shoulder.  “Catch up with us, Aquagirl.”  She and Veracity moved off to another hall.

    “Uh.”  Avril looked to them, and then to Kismet, slightly bewildered.  “Sure.”

    “I just wanted to say thanks.”  Kismet said.  “I really ain’t good at this sorta thing but, you mighta saved Dezzy’s life, and, that means a lot to me.”

    “Oh.  That.”  Avril ahrugged.  “It’s nothing.  I’m happy I helped.”

    “Well, it’s everything to me.”  Kismet leaned up and kissed Avril on the cheek.  “Thank you.  A lot.”

    As Kismet walked away, Avril blushed furiously and touched her cheek.  For the second time in the day, Avril was reminded of exactly how gay she was.

 

*****

 

    June walked to her door and tested it.  Ms. Kerberus had not locked her in, perhaps due to how compliant she was.  She slipped through it, and headed down the hall, moving quickly and quietly in a way that only someone who had spent most of their life creeping through a thin-walled apartment so as not to wake her brother while up way, way too late really could.

    She reached the doors to the basement, and started down them.

    “Queen’s rook to A-4.”  She heard Hal say as she crept down the stairs.

    “Aha!  A bold move, my incarcerated pseudofriend!”  She heard Octavian reply.  “But have you considered this!”

    “...Octy you just put yourself into check.”

    “Oh.  So I did!  Apparently, my sister is the sole chess genius in the family.”

    June stepped into the corridor, and saw Octy, sitting on the floor with a chessboard in front of him.  He was directly in front of Prince Decembren’s cell.

    “Shall we play again?  I can attempt a slightly better performance, this time.”

    “Well, I’m not really going anywhere.”

    “Uh.”  June began, stepping into view.  “Hi?”

    “Oh!  June!”  Octy turned to her and smiled.  “Sneaking out already, are you?”

    “Yeah, just for a second.”  She walked over and also sat in front of the cell.

    Hal was on the other side, sitting on the floor in front of the bars.  He did not have a shirt on, which seemed to be somewhat standard for him.  June was getting a lot better at trying not to stare than she had been at first.  Hal immediately looked self conscious when he saw her, and gave her an awkward smile.  “Oh.  Hey, June.”

    “Hey, Hal.”  June looked over at Octy.  “Hey, could I get a sec?  I just need to ask Hal a couple things.”

    “Of course!  I’ll be waiting upstairs, when you’re done.  And, if Ms. Kerberus starts looking for you, I shall make every excuse I can for why you are not down here.”  Octy smiled, and hopped to his feet.  “We will begin our game after you’ve spoken.  It will give me time to ask Auggie for tips, at the very least.”

    Octy left June there, with Hal.  Hal could not keep eye contact with June, and there was a part of June that felt very satisfied about that.

    “Hal, I...I lost control, today.  I almost killed...most of my friends, trying to destroy a meteor.”  She looked up from her lap at him.  “I don’t remember what happened.  I just remember being really, really scared and I think the Penumbra just...took over.”

    Hal gave her a genuinely concerned look.  “Is anyone hurt?  Are you alright?”

    “Not seriously, anymore, and no.  I’m not.  We don’t have our research books anymore, and...and you have experience doing bad things when you’re not in total control of yourself.”  Her voice wavered and shook.  “Do you...know anything that could do that, and...and do you know how I can feel...better, now?”

    Hal shook his head.  “I’m sorry, I don’t know much of what could scare you so much the Penumbra takes over without knowing what it is, and....for the second part, honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out.  I have...a lot more to work through on that front that even you do, now.”

    June nodded.  “Yeah, but...anything would be good.  Ms. Clack isn’t going to be here for another month, and I’m...I’m afraid, Hal.”

    “You’re afraid that even though you’re in control, now, you may not be in the future, and could lose control at any moment, and, next time, may not be able to prevent the damage you might do.”

    “Yes.”

    Hal gave her an apologetic look.  “It’s not much, but...sometimes, I look in the mirror, and I look at myself in the eyes.  I take deep breaths and say, ‘I’m in control’ ten times’.  It helps me, at the very least, assert that I have some sort of control at that moment.”

    “Okay.”  June stood up.  “Thanks, Hal.”

    “No problem.  I have a lot to make up for, and I’ll help in any way I can.”

    June left, and snuck back to her room, leaving Hal for Octy’s doomed attempts at chess.

    She laid down in bed, and stared at the ceiling.  She had no idea what was here, now, and what new threat was coming.  Given the terror she had felt, she did not know if, this time, she would be ready for it, either.

 

*****

 

    The meteor had cracked during the fall, with the stress, the heat, and the cold.  Its hollow insides had filled fully a quarter full of water, submerging gleaming metal corridors and wall after wall of sealed, metal doors.  Emergency lights slowly flickered on, and with it, sleeping figures inside began to stir.

    “Oh sister!”

    “Oh, yes, sister?”

    “It’s time, Zanra!  We’re here!  Wake your sleepy head!”

    “Oh, Vanra, that’s amazing!  We’ve been traveling so long!  I’m so happy to be here!”

    “Yes!  But I have terrible news, my dearest, most precious sister.”

    “Oh, Vanra, no, I’m not sure I have the heart for terrible news!”

    “Dear sister...we landed with a peaceful, easy landing!  There was hardly an impact at all!  The vessel is almost completely intact, and, what’s worse, we did not even destroy the settlement!”

    “No!  Such dreadful news!  I may faint!  This is dire news indeed!”

    “Take heart, my precious, precious Zanra!  I have a prize for you that is sure to make your bad mood become a good mood!”

    “I’m not sure, my irreplaceable, most beloved, most lovely sister!  I feel faint with disappointment!”

    “We do still have one of _them_ left.  Perhaps they will be more helpful with some persuasion!”

    “Oh, lovely, perfect, dearest Vanra!  You’re absolutely correct!  Ah, I feel so much better now!  Let’s go see what we can discover, my caring, loving sister.”

    There was a pause, and the two small figures, moving through the red light of the emergency lamps, began to cackle maliciously, a sound that echoed through the empty corridors long after they had stopped.


	3. Episode 3:  On the Town

“Oh, Vanra....I just can’t pick!”  Two small figures moved from sealed door to sealed door, going on their tip-toes to look into each of the portholes on them.  “There are so many!”

“How about....this one!”

“No, no.  We’ll never find anything for it!  It’s hopeless.”

“No, Zanra, it’s never hopeless!  We’ll find one, just you wait!”

“Oh, Vanra, hold me!”

Pained shouting interrupted their melodrama.  The two small figures looked to each other, and then immediately began cackling.

“It’s awake!  And it’s angry!”

The one that was Zanra sighed happily.  “Oh, just hearing its pain makes me feel ever so much better!”

The one that was Vanra patted her on the shoulder.  “We’ll find the right one, and then we’ll go torture it some more!  Then we’ll both feel better!  And this time, we don’t even need any information!  We can just do it for funsies!”

“Yay!  Okay, my beloved sister!  Let’s hurry up so we can get back to playing.”

 

*****

 

On sunday afternoon, June was allowed to come out of her room at Stellar Ranger HQ for a reason beyond getting food or going to the bathroom--both of which she had to be escorted by Leah or Ms. Kerberus for.  She had spent the first half of saturday sad, and the second half bored and sad.  By sunday afternoon, she was just bored.  There had been no more episodes, and even the fear pulsing in the back of her head had faded a bit.

Ms. Kerberus opened the unlocked door for her, and June stepped into the hall.  Destiny, Kismet, Faye, Auggie, and Cassie were all waiting for her.

“Junie!”  Faye said with a big, glowing smile.  “You’re here!  Hi!”

June breathed a sigh of relief, and then smiled back.  “Hey!  It’s good to see you.”

Faye was staring expectantly at June.  June’s smile grew, and she nodded.  “You can come hug me, sweetie.”

Faye rushed over to June and hugged her hard, picking her up and turned her around in air, before putting her back down.  Destiny was staring at them awkwardly, and June motioned for her to come over, and she then joined the big hug.

Ms. Kerberus cleared her throat.  “Just be careful, June.  Don’t do anything too stressful, and stay as far from the lake as possible.  My monsters are scouting around it, still, but they’ve yet to report back anything save for some structural damage.  I don’t trust it.  You girls, if you’re going with her, watch her closely.”

“Oh, I think Dezzy and Faye’re gonna be all about that!”  Kismet said.  Destiny nodded.

“We were thinking it may be good to get some shopping done.”  Cassie said.  “Of course, I can make myself scarce if you wanted to get anything for a certain upcoming birthday.”

“Oh right!”  Auggie gave Cassie a teasing look.  “Gemma’s birthday’s coming up, huh?”

Cassie glared at her.  “Yes, and the one right before it.”

“Naw, Octy’s was a week ago.”  Auggie shrugged.  “Time does fly, though!”

“At any rate, my truly reprehensible best friend aside--”

“Love, you, Cassie!”

“--We should, at the very least, get some Halloween costumes.”

Auggie nudged her.  “And stuff for the school talent show.”

Cassie blushed.  “None of us is going to be in it.”

“Aw, come on!  You should sing!”

“No.”

“C’mon, Cassie, you’d do great!”

“Never.”

June shrugged.  “I was thinking about doing the talent show.  It could be a good thing to get over stuff.”

“Hey, we could duet!”  Destiny said, still holding onto June.  “That killed at the show when we did it.”

“Yeah, totally!”

“I still think you should sing at the talent show, Cassie.”

Cassie sighed.  “Okay, Auggie, I will make you a deal.  I will sing at the talent show--I will even do so with Gemini if she does not automatically take the opportunity to sing against me, on one, singular condition--namely, you must get Senine to dance at it, too.”

“...You want me to get Senine to do ballet at the talent show?”  Auggie thought about that for a moment.  “Okay, will do!  When is it, again?”

“A week.”

“Senine does ballet?!”  Faye asked in an excited tone.  “That’s so cool!”

“She does not like to talk about it.”  Cassie said.  “Or do it.  Ever.”

“I’ll do it.”  Auggie said with a nod.  “I’ll get you to sing!  Just watch me.”

 

The six of them were walking around a few shops downtown.  They had spent a couple hours shopping for costumes, and were now trying to find a good place for lunch.

“Wow.”  Auggie said, looking at her phone.  “Senine knows a lot of really, really mean words.”

Cassie gave her a triumphant grin.  “Oh, are you backing down?  Good, we can finally put this behind us.”

“Why would I back down?  You haven’t won any games against me, yet, I’m not gonna start losing now.”

Cassie glared at her, and she grinned right back at her.

“Y’know.”  Kismet said as she tried to steer everyone towards Thai food.  “If I’d known there were gonna be two and a half couples here, I wouldn’t’ve come along.”

June gave her an apologetic smile.  Destiny and Faye were holding hands behind her.

“We aren’t a couple.”  Auggie said.  “I’d never date the same girl my brother was dating, no one deserves to date two Leveys at once.  I’m not THAT cruel.”

Cassie smiled at Auggie, and then nodded.  “It’s true, one person can only take so much purposeful theatrics in their lovelife.”

“Amber loves it when I’m super theatrical!  I mostly only do it while playing games.”

“You’re like a weird friend couple.”  Kismet insisted.

“It’s totally true.”  Destiny said.  “Everyone can see it.  Looks like you’re the odd girl out, sis.  Unless you wanna kiss Avril again.”

“Woah woah, what?”  June said.  “You kissed my...Roommate?  Housemate?  Adopted sister?  Huh.  I honestly don’t know what my relation to Avril is.”

Kismet rolled her eyes.  “I kissed her on the cheek!  Because she saved Destiny’s life!”

“I wasn’t gonna die, Kizzy.  I fell off a horse.  People have been falling off horses and surviving for thousands of years.”

“She didn’t freak out?”  June asked.  “She didn’t have a panic attack or anything from you kissing her?”

“No?  I’m actually a good kisser, June, thanks for the insinuation.”

“That’s not what I mean.”  June said.  “Avril has a Thing about people kissing her and being affectionate to her.  When Senine tried it she really flipped out.  It’s because...Well.  You guys can probably guess.”  June reached up to check her choker as she said it.

“Well, that’s depressing, but no, she didn’t.  She mostly just blushed and looked flustered.  It was pretty cute!”  Kismet gave a smug shrug.  “I guess she just didn’t have a kiss as good as mine?”

“Or,”  Destiny began as she looped her arm with Faye’s.  Faye blushed and leaned into her, “she was super exhausted, and you didn’t kiss her on the lips and that’s the big problem.”

Kismet stuck her tongue out at her twin, who did the motion right back to her.

June started to say something, when, a block away, she heard someone scream out in alarm.  She turned that direction, frowning and reaching for her badge.  Faye was doing the same.  “Did anyone else hear--”

The shout turned into panicked screaming.  All six Stellar Rangers pulled out their badges and rushed towards the sounds of panic.

 

When they reached the source of the panic, the Stellar Rangers found two things.

The first was a familiar pair--Malcolm, with a high quality digital camera in hand, and his partner Lydia behind him with a second camera.  His camera panned onto the Stellar Rangers when they appeared, though Lydia’s did not seem to track them.

The other thing, and the primary object of the cameras, and also, of the screaming, panicked crowd, was a figure that looked much like the Savage Star Jakil, save that he was a little shorter and a little souter.  He held something that looked like a conch, made of a matte black material, and his yellow eyes were glancing around in a panic, his canine snout snorting up all of the scents it could.

When he saw the Stellar Rangers, however, the canine alien paused, and breathed a sigh of relief.  “Burning skies, I never thought I’d see that day.”  He growled, and then took a step forward.  “I never thought I’d be happy to see Stellar Rangers.”

“Malcolm.”  Cassie said with a sigh.  “Could you please give us some space?”

“Oh, sure!”  Malcolm backed up, pulling Lydia with him.  “Plenty of space, hero girls!  Don’t worry, totally going to blur you guys’ faces on the video.”

The canine alien did not even look at him.  “Are you full rangers?  I need amnesty, right now.”

“We’re full Stellar Rangers.”  June said.  “I’m the leader of...I guess most of us?  Not the twins but I’m basically--That doesn’t matter.  Who are you and what’s going on?”

“My name is Wilaf.  I am--I was, a prisoner on a Stellar Ranger prison called the Fallen Star.  I woke up, and...and these two little girls gave me this.”  He held up the strange conch-like object.  “And they told me to fill it with star energy.  Naturally, I tried to make a panic to try to attract you.  They...they killed almost all the crew.  I think just a handful are left.  Maybe even only the warden.  I heard them...heard them making him scream.”

“What’s the conch for?”  Destiny asked.

“Yeah!  Why’d they let you out.”  Kismet continued.

“They--”

“SIGH.”  A voice said from a roof to the left of the rangers.  It was a younger, female voice with a light, high tone.

“I agree, my dearest sister!”  A second voice said, from the other side of the street.  Her voice was about as young as the other one, though slightly deeper.

“We just told him two very specific instructions, Vanra!”  Zanra said, putting her hand to her forehead making a dismal sound of distress.  She looked like a human girl of about ten or eleven years old.  She wore a frilly, poofy white dress, with black buttons running up the front.  She wore white tights and tiny, extremely dainty black shoes.  She had long, white hair in a set of complicated braids, and wore a white sunhat, topped with black lace.  There was a strip of frilly, lacy black cloth over her right eye, tied in what amounted to a very fancy, very pretty and stylish eyepatch.  Her left eye was bright red.  “We told him to avoid Stellar Rangers!  He was a thief, he was supposed to keep a low profile!  Oh, oh I’m so distressed, I could just collapse from melancholy!”

“And that’s not all of it, my sweetest, dearest, most loveable sibling.”  Vanra said.  She looked almost exactly like her sister.  She wore a long black dress, which was less poofy but, perhaps, even frillier.  It was bound with white ribbons, each tied in a perfect bow.  She had a pair of white dress boots on, along with black leggings.  Her black hair was extremely voluminous and curly, and was allowed to hang down her back in a chaotic tangle, filled with white ribbons and black hair clips to give it the illusion of control.  While her right eye was bright red, she had a frilly white strip of cloth tied around her left eye in a very fancy makeshift eyepatch.  “We told him, specifically, that he had two choices!  And he hasn’t filled the conch at all!”

“It makes me so sad!  He was told he had two options!”

“He either had to get fuel....”

The two turned to Wilaf with predatory grins.  Their mouths looked like they were full of very sharp teeth in that moment.  “Or  _ be _ fuel.”  They said in complete sync, and then burst into twin fits of giggles.

The Stellar Rangers looked amongst themselves with an assortment of confused looks.

“Who the heck are the little kids?”  Auggie asked.

“Those are them.  The little...little monsters that killed everyone!”  Wilaf took several steps towards the rangers.  “You need to help me.  Quick, take me away from them!”

“Oh!  Vanra!”  Zanra broke out of the laugh and pouted.  “Vanra, we didn’t introduce ourselves!”

Vanra’s eyes went wide.  “Oh no, how mortifying!”

“We need to remedy this immediately!”

“You’re absolutely correct, Zanra.”  Vanra stood up and curtseyed.  “My name is Vanra, and this is my beautiful, charming, and brilliant sister.”

“Zanra!”  Zanra also curtseyed.  “Thank you for the compliments, my absolutely perfect in every way sibling!”  She turned to the Stellar Rangers with an apologetic look.  “We are ever so sorry our problem became yours!  We told him not to!”

“We did.  We specifically told him to avoid you!  In fact...is one of you the one with the Penumbra?”

“Uh.”  June said, and then raised her hand.

Both Vanra and Zanra glared down at Wilaf, and in an instant, they were flanking him, sitting on thin air as they floated around him.

“We  _ told _ you to avoid that one!”  Vanra snarled, fangs once again visible.

“ _ Specifically! _ ”  Zanra added.  “We told you avoid the Rangers and also most especially to avoid Stellar Ranger Dark Star!  Oh, sister, this is a nightmare!”

“Well, my dearest darling sibling...”  Vanra began as the twins started to float in a tighter circle around Wilaf.  “...He could still serve  _ a _ purpose!”

“Oh, yes, sister.”  Zanra said, and the  lashed a hand out at Wilaf.  He cried out in pain, and in that instant, Auggie and Faye had shot forward.  June had summoned her daggers, and the twins had called both of their sets of axes.

Vanra and Zanra vanished before they could be reached, however, and re-appeared on a nearby roof.  Zanra held up a black handled, jeweled letter opener that was wet with dark red blood.

“She stabbed me!”  Wilaf swore, stepping back.  Cassie rushed over to him and started to glow green.  The wound in his side immediately began to mend.

Vanra and Zanra both grinned down at him.  The letter opener vanished, but the blood remained, floating in the air in front of the wicked twins.  Vanra gestured, and it started to swirl, taking on a shifting, flowing shape in the air.

“What do you two want?  Why are you here?”  June said, stepping between them and Wilaf.

“Why ever would we say that?”  Vanra asked.

“Indeed, sister, it would be idiotic to say such a thing!”

“All you need to know is, we are here for the greatest prize in the universe.”

June narrowed her eyes.  “You can’t have the Penumbra.”

Vanra and Zanra turned to each other, blinked, and then burst out into a flurry of malicious cackling.

“Why would we want the Penumbra?”  They said as one.

“She’s just so self-centered, Zanra.”

Zanra nodded.  “It’s rather upsetting, my most beloved sibling.”

“It’s not always about you, Dark Star.”

“Indeed!  Besides, if we wanted the Penumbra...”  Zanra began.

“...Why would we have tried to crash a meteor into you?”  Vanra finished.

“Wait...”  Auggie said.  “You did that?”

“Well...”  Vanra began.

“...We didn’t stop it!”

“On purpose didn’t stop it.”

“And set it up without caring if it did.”

“So....”

“...yes!”  Zanra finished.

“...This is slightly more unsettling than when I talked for Gemini.”  Cassie mumbled.

“Right?”  The March twins said in unison.

Destiny sighed.  “Oh well, we’re still the fun twins.”

“The most fun twins.”  Kismet agreed.

“Oh, Zanra!  They don’t think we’re fun!”

“It’s so sad, Vanra!  Maybe they need some...”

The twins grinned down at the Stellar Rangers, and said in unison, “...music.”

Zanra reached into her chest, and ripped out a black harp with white strings.

Vanra reached into her chest with both hands, and pulled out a white violin and bow, with black strings and hair.

June’s eyes went wide.  She felt the instruments resonate with something in her chest.  “Those are...but.  There aren’t any more Penumbral weapons!”

“Oh?”  Vanra grinned.

“Aren’t there?”  Zanra’s grin matched her sister’s.

Vanra put the bow to the strings, and Zanra’s fingers danced along the strings. In complete sync, they began to play.

Their song was fast and jovial, and the longer they played, the faster the song got.  The blood, spinning and twirling in the air, began to crack and burn.

Wilaf doubled over.  His body started to twist and grow.  His skin hardened, and his fur began to bristle and sprout in much larger quantities.

Zanra and Vanra’s song went faster and faster, going from quick and jovial to frantic and wild, though they never missed a single note.

The Stellar Rangers stepped away from Wilaf as the skin on his head was pulled tight, so tight that it now resembled a leathery skull  He now had arms that were as long as his body, ending in foot-long claws on hands that were as large as his torso.  His legs were long and powerful, and his feet were gnarled masses of claw and scar tissue.  His eyes were glowing red pools, sunken into his head.

June felt physically ill just looking at him for reasons beyond his now grotesque appearance.

“Puppy,”  Zanra began.

“Do us a favor.”  Vanra continued.

“Kill them, starting with Dark Star.”  They said in sync.

“Ta-ta, Stellar Rangers!”  Vanra said, waving with one hand.

“See you next time!”  Zanra continued.

“If you survive.”  They cackled as they vanished, Zanra in a surge of darkness, and Vanra in a flash of light.

Wilaf roared in pain, and swiped his claws out at June.  Faye lunged, knocking June out of the way.  The claw slashed down and ripped a massive shred in the side of the building behind her.

Cassie pointed her scythe at a nearby tree.  Its branches lashed out and grabbed at the warped prisoner, who lashed his claws out at them, shredding them in an instant.

Kismet hit him with a blast of fire, but he ignored that even as burns covered his thick hide.  He swiped widely with both sets of claws, but they just met the air as Faye continued to pull June away.

Destiny gestured to the ground, and ice formed over Wilaf’s feet.  He tried to pursue June, but found that he was frozen to the pavement below.  Wilaf growled, and then his body melted away into black mist, right as a lightning bolt had arced through the air towards him.  It surged through the mist, scattering it, and hit the world beyond him.

The mist swirled around and coalesced behind June and Faye.  Faye sniffed the air and stumbled forward with June, just in time to avoid another heavy swipe of claws.  She let out a quick howl, and Wilaf whimpered in pain, putting both of his talons to his ears.

Black and white fire swirled around June, and she reached into her chest, pulling the Penumbra out and entering her Penumbral form.  She moved back, past the March twins, and started to find a song to play, when she paused.

“June, what’s wrong?  We gotta blast this creep!”  Destiny said, her frozen axes in hand.

“Yeah, June, just explode him or something already!”  Kismet added, brandishing her flaming axes.

“But...but he was asking for our help!  He--”

Wilaf rushed forward, screaming and howling, claws raised.  Cassie planted her scythe in the ground, and a tree sprang up in front of him.  Where he would have smashed into it, Wilaf evaporated into smoke, re-forming in front of the tree, just in time to get a lightning bolt to the chest.

Auggie’s batons crackled as she slowly backed away from Wilaf.  The March twins stepped up next to her.

“Junie, what’s the plan?”  Auggie called.

“I...”  June said, fingers just above her strings.  “I don’t know.”

Wilaf pushed himself to his feet.  He growled and took a step forward.  “kill...me...”

June felt her head pounding in a steady pattern.  She tried to ignore it.  “No, we need to--”

He roared and took another step forward, shaking off the last effects of the shock.  “KILL ME.  this is...suffering.  end it.  kill me.  free me.”

“But...”  June’s eyes were wide.  “But....You came for us for help and--”

Wilaf snarled and lunged.  Destiny blasted cold at him, and froze the air as he once again exploded into dark mist.  The mist coalesced again, and June’s heart and her reflexes wanted her to attack, but her conscience fought back, stopping her hand above the strings.

Flame slammed into Wilaf from the side, and Kismet dashed forward, burying both axes in his side.  He roared and lashed out at her, only barely missing her as she hopped away.  

Cassie waved her hand, and a green aura surrounded everyone, boosting their physical and magical energy.  Faye rushed forward and dug her claws into Wilaf’s chest--though she fell to the ground when he dissolved into mist yet again.

He appeared behind June.  June turned and slammed down a chord on her guitar.

A blast of light and dark lanced through Wilaf.  He stumbled back, and fell to the ground.

June covered her mouth and took a step back.  “I...I didn’t...”

“...thank...you...”  He gasped as life drained away from him.  “...and...and don’t let them get...”

Wilaf’s body went limp, and then it began to shake.  His whole form exploded into  blood, which coiled upwards into the air rather than landing or splattering,  before evaporating into a red haze that quickly dissipated.

“Oh, no!”  Zanra said, suddenly standing right next to June.  “That poor puppy!  Vanra, look what they did to the puppy!”

Vanra was on the other side of June.  “It’s horrible.  How cruel!  It only wanted help from you!”

June turned and started to play, but neither Vanra nor Zanra was there, anymore.  Instead, they were on a nearby roof, looking down at the Stellar Rangers.

“It’s so tragic.”  Zanra mimed crying, and then gave a casual shrug.  “Oh well!”

“Yes, it’s very sad, but we’re out of time to play, anyway.”  Vanra said.  She had the conch-thing in her hand.  “Come on, Zanra, we need some new plans!”

“Oh, good!  I love plans, Vanra!”

They vanished as quickly as they had arrived.

June stared to where they had been, and then looked down, at the rapidly diminishing mass of blood that had once been Wilaf.

“Junie?”  Faye approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.  “Junie, are you....”

The pounding in June’s head had started to diminish.  “I’m...I need...some time.  I’m going home.  You guys, you can tell Leah and Ms. Kerberus, yeah?”

Auggie nodded.  “Yeah, sure, Junie.  Take some time and talk to us later.”

“I will.  I just...”  She turned and walked right past Malcolm, who was still shooting the scene.  Lydia, at some point, had dropped her camera and was standing about a block away, looking confused.

“June, wait!”  Destiny started to go after her, but Cassie stepped in front of her and shook her head.

“When June wishes to be left alone, it’s best to oblige it.”

“Bull, she’s...”

“She’s right, Dezzy.”  Faye took Destiny’s hand and pulled her back.  “She needs to cool off.  It’s just how she is, there isn’t anything we can do.”

“That sucks.”

Faye nodded.  “Yeah, it does.  But that’s just Junie!  Everyone needs something different, and when Junie gets really, really upset, that thing is to be left alone.  Even if it hurts to see her hurt.”

Destiny frowned, and watched June go, but did not say or do anything else.

“Okay, so, if the drama bomb’s over?”  Kismet gestured towards the Stellar Ranger HQ.  “We had a monster attack.”

Auggie rolled her eyes.  “God, you’d get along great with Amber.”

“There’s a time for emotions and that time is not just after a pair of freaky-ass twins just tried to maul us with blood magic or something.”

“She is right.”  Cassie said.  “Come on, this is just the first incident, I’m afraid, of will likely be many.”

“Well, hell, talent shows, monster attacks?”  Kismet shrugged as she followed the others.  “At least Solar City ain’t boring, right, Dezzy?”

Dezzy nodded absent-mindedly, still watching as June disappeared around a corner.  “Yeah.  Right.”

 

After they had gotten a fair distance away from both the scene and Malcolm, Auggie said, “Okay, so, all the instruments were lost to Despair, right?”

“Correct.”  Cassie replied. 

“Oh no, do you think they were star vampires?”  Faye asked.

“I mean, maybe?”  Auggie shrugged.  “If they were, though, why the heck did they need someone else to take energy for them?  Lanessa had noooo problems stealing it from us.”

“Could they be something else, then?”  Kismet asked.   “I’m not really an expert on all this Despair stuff.”

“It’s possible.”  Cassie looked to Faye and Auggie, and then to Kismet.  “We have had our share of experience with them, but we still are not quite familiar with what being a creature of Despair even means.  They could have been like how the Puppetrix was.”

“She had all kinds of scary powers, it’s true.”  Auggie said

“Soooo...how was the Puppetrix?”

“She...”  Faye began.  “She was just a little girl, but Despair had twisted her into a monster.  Sort of like Wilaf, but even worse!  She didn’t even know she was doing bad things!  Or she did but she didn’t think of them as bad!  Not until...the end.  When we killed her.”

“It was rough.”  Auggie patted Faye on the back.  “On all of us, but especially Junie.”

“So...is that why she freaked?”  Destiny spoke for the first time since they had started walking.  “This whole thing reminded her of that?”

“That is probably part of it, yes.”  Cassie said.  “But the Puppetrix is not the only loss of innocent life we’ve had to endure.  June’s beginning to get exhausted with it.”

“Which, hey, me too!  And this guy was like..begging us to help him and all we could do was kill him.”  Auggie sighed.  “What even was that freaky blood magic stuff, anyway?”

“Sympathetic magic, no doubt.  Using the blood to assist in warping him.” 

“It was freaky as fuck.”  Kismet replied.  “Do you think they could do it to us?”

“I’m not certain.”  Cassie shrugged.  “Which is, in some ways, worse than a hard yes.”

 

*****

 

June sat on her bed, and was trying to play guitar.  However, the tune just would not come to her.  She struggled to get into it, but she just could not bring herself to play.

“Really.”  Vanra said from her spot in June’s room.  “You should just stay out of it.”

“Oh, yes!  You’ll be so much happier!”  Zanra added, nodding enthusiastically.

June jumped and dropped her guitar, shuffling back on her bed.  Her left hand crackled with light and her right hand crackled with darkness.

“If you keep interfering...”

“...We’ll have to keep warping them.”

They finished, together, “And no one wants that.”

“What do you want?”  June snarled.

“We told you.”  Vanra rolled her eyes.

“We won’t tell you.”  Zanra mirrored her eyeroll.

“It’s the greatest prize.”

“And you shouldn’t try to stop us.”

“More innocent people.”  They said in unison. “Will die every time you interfere.”

“Keep it in mind.”  Vanra said, and then vanished.   
“Ta-ta!”  Zanra waved, and then also vanished.

June stared at where they had been, and then dispersed the energy from around her hands.  She knelt down, picked up her guitar, and tried to play again.


	4. Episode 4:  Depth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note: This chapter contains homophobic and transphobic language.

Warden Sotusc hung from the ceiling of what was once his office by a pair of manacles around his wrists.  He was a dracon, as Denlos of the Despair Hunters and Baron Stellos were.  His bony plates looked like sandstone, complete with the grainy texture, and his eyes glowed a faint yellow.  He wore a heavily damaged and stained Stellar Ranger uniform, hanging around him in tatters and showing the cracks and cuts in his plates.

Vanra and Zanra stood before him, grinning their wide, toothy smiles that contained absolutely no mirth.  “You were right!  How awful.”  Vanra said.

“It’s simply the worst!”  Zanra said, flopping back dramatically.  Vanra was right there to catch her.

“What do you want?”  Sotusc hissed.  “I’ve given you all the information I know, and you killed my people, anyway.  You’ve tortured me for...for months.  What else is there?”

“Well, you didn’t think we would just ignore you!”  Vanra acted shocked.

“Indeed!  It would have been ever so rude!  Vanra, what sort of scoundrel does he take us for?”

“The worst kind, my most beloved sister!”

Sotusc pulled against his bonds, but nothing happened save for a rattling of chains.  “What.  Do you want?”

“Oh!  It’s simple!”

“So very simple!”

“We’re going to torture you, again.”

Sotusc narrowed his eyes.  “I have nothing left to say to you.”

“Oh, it’s not for a reason!”  Vanra said.

“We just need a pick-me-up!”

“But, if it’s any consolation...”

They both said, with matching, wider, toothier grins.  “If you scream loud enough, it’ll be over faster.”

 

*****

 

Auggie woke up to being gently shaken, as she was starting to get used to, living with Amber.  She was surprised to see that it was not her girlfriend that was shaking her, but a pair of very familiar green-haired girls.

“Auggie.”  Cassie said, an urgent look on her face.  “We need your help.”

“...Cass?  Gemma?  What’s...is there danger?  Do you have a cold or something?”  Auggie sat up and shook off her sleep.  She saw that Amber was at the computer, headphones on.  She was sprawled over the keyboard, fast asleep.  The monitor showed the character select screen of the MMO Auggie had convinced Amber to play with her.

“...No.”  Cassie sat on the bed, and Gemini followed suit.  “There’s a problem.  Our voices.  We...”

“They’re like normal?”

Cassie shook her head.  Gemini leaned over and whispered to her, and she nodded.  “No.  They aren’t.”

“Wait, you’re doing that thing you used to.  What’s wrong?  You just did that when you didn’t like your voice.”

“It’s...”  Cassie looked over her shoulder, at the sleeping Amber, and then back at Auggie.  “Deeper.  It got deeper.”

“Maybe slightly?  I can barely tell, and that’s just ‘cause I know you so well.”

“It’s deeper, Auggie.”  Cassie said, voice tinged with anxiety.  “It’s deeper, there shouldn’t be testosterone, this shouldn’t be happening.  We did not lax, we have plenty of estrogen, everything should be as normal but our voices are both deeper and we do not know what to do.”

“Cass, it’s fine.  Your voice still sounds like it always does.  Sure, maybe there’s a very slight change, but, like, that happens?  Girl voices change too--just not a whole lot, and that’s sort of like what happened to yours.”

“But...but what if it gets even deeper?  What if I missed something?  I don’t...I don’t want to become a boy.”

Gemma grabbed onto Cassie.  They were both crying.

“Gemini, Cassiopeia.  Look at me.”  Auggie put a hand on Cassie’s shoulder and on Gemma’s leg.  “You’re not going to become boys.  Your voices got a little deeper, but they’re still really girly!  Honestly, no one’s even gonna notice it, and if they do, they definitely won’t think this is you ‘turning into a boy’.  It’s just you growing up.  You’ve never been boys.  You’ve always been girls, in my book, and you always will be, no matter what.”

Cassie and Gemini both hugged Auggie, then, and they heard a voice from the computer chair.

“Like...Is this a nightmare?  Like, am I still, like, asleep?”

Auggie grinned past the Schumachers, at Amber, who now had her headphones around her neck and was looking their way.  “It’s not a nightmare, come and join the hug party!  It never stops.”

“Ugh.  I’ll pass.  Like, what’s with the, like, Schumachers?”

“They’re going through a tough time!  Just came to talk, that’s all!”

Amber gave them a suspicious look.  “Like, whatever?  Do they want, like, something to, like, drink or something?”

“No, thank you, Amber.”  Cassie pulled away from the hug.  Gemini whispered in her ear, and she said, “But Gemini would like some water, if you could.”

“God, like, sure?  Do you have a cold or something?”  Amber did not stick around for the answer, and left the room.

Cassie and Gemini both got a dismal look as she said that.

“It’s fine.”  Auggie insisted.  “It’s your new voice.  It’s not a boy voice.  I promise, no one’s going to say it is.”

 

*****

 

June had only slept a few hours over the course of the night, and those had not been voluntary.

She had not told anyone about her visitors from the previous night, and was not entirely sure if she should mention them, at all.

When Cassie, Gemini, Janice, Auggie, Amber, and Octy were there to pick her up, June was sitting at the kitchen table, still in her pajamas, dozing just enough to not quite fall asleep in her cereal.

“Junie?”  Janice asked as she prodded June lightly.  “You okay?”

“Zhuh???”  June shook herself out of her light doze.  “Oh, uh, hey guys, crap, I’ll be ready in a second.”  She stood up and then ran to her room.

The others watched her go.  As she shut the door, Avril entered the main room with a toaster pastry sticking out of her mouth.

“Hey, Avvy, is Junie okay?”  Auggie asked, glancing past her.  “She looks like she didn’t sleep like.  At all.”

“I don’t know.  I’m fairly sure that’s accurate, though.”  Avril chomped down a bit more pastry.  “She’s been half asleep all morning.  I had to knock very loudly to get her to respond from the bathroom.”

“Is something wrong?”  Janice asked.

“Not that I know of.  She isn’t talking about it.”

“Like....was yesterday, like, really that bad?”  Amber looked to Auggie and Cassie.

Cassie nodded but did not say anything.

“It kinda sucked, yeah.”  Auggie said.  “But hey, at least it’s better than we did with Lanessa, where we didn’t know she existed for like two years.”

Avril gave an involuntary shudder when that name was mentioned.

“Oh, shoot, sorry, Avvy.”

“No, it’s fine.  She’s gone and she can’t hurt me any more.”  Avril recited, repeating the words of her therapist.

June stepped out of her room.  It looked as though she had given up halfway through braiding her hair.  “Okay, sorry, I’m ready.”

 

As they walked to school, June stayed quiet, much like the Schumachers did.  Eventually, however, before they could reach the junction in which they would have met up with Senine and Faye, June said, “So...I was thinking that, uh, maybe we just let Vanra and Zanra...do what they’re doing?”

Everyone stared at her after she said that.

“Like, June, are you, like...what???”  Amber asked.

“I agree with everything you just said, sweetie, like, what?”

“Junie...”  Janice began.  “I’m trying to think of a non-offensive way to ask if you’re crazy but I keep just coming up with ‘that’s crazy, what?’”

“I have a history of taking your side.”  Said Octy.  “But I’m afraid I don’t see how I could in this particular incident, June.”

Cassie took her boyfriend’s hand and nodded emphatically at that point.

“I...”  June took a reflexive step back as everyone automatically turned the idea down.  “I just think, well...a lot of innocent people could get hurt.  By us.”

“Like...”  Amber said.  “They’re prisoners???  Like, sure, like, they might not deserve to die and, like, I really hate, like, having to kill people but, like....you guys said they were, like, using people to, like, steal star energy????  For, like, probably bad reasons????”

“Amber’s right.”  Janice added.  “I know it sucks to hurt people but if we don’t, a lot more people are gonna get hurt.”

“But...What if there’s another way, and...and in the end, killing them could’ve been avoided?”

“Junie.”  Auggie put a hand on her shoulder.  “I get it, but, do you think that’s worth them getting what they want?  They won’t even tell us what it is, and that’s hella suspicious.”

“...No.  I guess it isn’t.  It’s just...I keep thinking to the Savage Stars.  Maybe if we’d been faster...they wouldn’t have had to die.  Or done...something differently.  Anything.  I’m tired of death and pain and...and you guys are right!  I know you’re right, I know we can’t let them do this.”  June made a frustrated noise.  “I know it, I do.  But they shouldn’t get to twist people like that, either.”

Auggie hugged her, and June hugged back.  “We’ll all get through this, Junie.  And hey, more to talk to Ms. Clack about, right?”

“Yeah.”  June said, looking in the direction of the lake.  “Right.”

 

*****

 

Gemini rushed out of math class and to her locker, keeping her face low and walking with none of her typical confidence.  She hated spontaneous oral quizzes about as much as, right now, she hated her voice.

She pulled her locker open and started to change book when she heard a voice beside her say, “So, did your balls finally drop, tranny?”

Gemini turned, and saw Bethany standing there with a cruel smirk, her arms crossed over her chest.  “Go away.”  She said.  “I still have a girl voice.”

“Maybe for now, but I can tell it’s deeper.  Everyone can tell.  Soon you won’t be able to hide yourself any more.  No more creeping on us in the girl’s locker room.  The school’ll make you leave.  Because you’re not a girl.  You’re disgusting.”

Gemini backed up, into her lockers, causing a loud crashing noise.  

Bethany sneered.  “What, nothing to say?  No threats?  Your bark’s worse than your bite.”

“I am a girl.”  Gemini said weakly and quietly.

“Liar.”  Bethany got in Gemini’s face and spat that word.  “You’re a liar and your voice proves it.”

“All...all girls get slightly deeper--”

“You aren’t a girl!”

“Y-yes I am.”  Gemini said, voice shaking as she did so.  She could feel Bethany’s life beating away in her chest, and she knew how easy it would be to reach out and just snuff it out.  She tried as hard as she could to ignore that thought, but Bethany was not getting out of her face.

Before this could continue, someone grabbed Bethany by the shoulder and pulled her back hard enough that she stumbled onto her rear.  Amber stood between Bethany and Gemini, hands on her hips and scowling.  “Like, leave her alone.”  Amber said, standing firm between the two of them.

“Or what, Amber?”  Bethany said as she stood up.  “What’ll you do?  You know it’ll just get you even more kicked off the team than you already are.  God, look at you!  You used to call this tranny out the same as the rest of us!  What happened?”

“I, like, learned that it’s, like, better to, like, not be a waste of a human and, like, actually be nice to people?”

Bethany glared.  “It’s a freak, Amber.  Just a boy pretending to be a girl.”

“Bethany!”  Faye said, pushing through the crowd that had formed around them and stepping beside Amber.  “That’s enough!  You’re being really mean.”

“I’m telling the truth, you dumb dyke!”  Bethany snapped.  “Everyone agrees with me, they’re just too afraid of it to do anything about it!  I’m saying what everyone else has always been thinking, and you two can’t do anything about it because you’ll get in trouble and you’ll be kicked out of cheerleading!”

June walked right up to Bethany.  There were deep, dark circles under her red eyes, which were locked on Bethany’s.  Then, without warning, and before Bethany could react, June punched her right in the face.

June was not strong, especially when compared to the rather athletic Bethany, but Bethany had absolutely not been expecting this and took the blow right to the nose.  There was a cracking noise, and blood started to spurt from her face.

“I...”  Bethany touched her nose.  When it came back wet she covered her nose and started to run away.

June watched her go with a look of complete and total satisfaction, even as Ms. Carver pushed herself through the crowd of teens and grabbed her by the arm to take her to the Principal’s office.

 

*****

 

About half an hour later, Bethany was in the bathroom, with her nose in a nose splint and a cotton ball up her right nostril.  She was washing the blood off of her shirt and grumbling under her breath. 

The bathroom door opened, and four girls entered the room.  One stayed near the door, leaning against it to keep it closed.  The other three approached--and surrounded--Bethany.

Bethany turned, and saw that it was Veracity Jones leaning against the door, running her hands over a Braille book.  On her left and right sides were Destiny and Kismet March, and right in front of her was Kara May.

Bethany was briefly starstruck, and then shook it off.  “Oh, uh..h-hey, Kara.”

“Hi!  Bethany, right?”  Kara asked, glancing to Kismet and Destiny, who nodded.

“Y-yeah!”

“Oh, relax!  We’re all just freshman here, right?  Except for Veracity, of course.”

Bethany gave an unsteady nod.

“You look like you’ve had a really stressful day.”  Kara’s voice stayed bright and friendly.  “Tough time?”

Bethany nodded yet again.  “Yeah, I got suspended, when that...”  She suddenly remembered that Destiny and June were dating, or something.  She hated that her favorite band just had to be full of gays.  “..June hit me.”

“Aw, that’s too bad! Anyway, I’m just here for one thing.  And that’s to tell you to leave off the Schumachers, or I’ll destroy you.”

“You...”  Bethany backed away, bumping into the sink behind her.

“I’ll absolutely ruin you, Bethany.  I’ll spread all the nasty rumors and terrible stories about you I can, even worse than the stuff you actually did.  And people will believe me, Bethany, because I’m a celebrity, and I’m pretty and nice and people like me.  I mean, people are already sort of iffy about you, because it’s clear you’re just kind of unpleasant.  But I will destroy what little you have left.  Not even Valerie will want to risk the social faux pas of being near you.  Not even the bigots at this school will want to talk to you.  Leave my friends, especially Cassie, Gemma, and June alone.”

“June and the others are too nice.”  Destiny said with a cruel smirk.

Kismet mirrored her sister.  “A punch is fine, but it’s immediately over, and you get over it.”

“We aren’t nice.”

“We’re very, very not nice.”

Kara gestured to them.  “See?  All three of us will annihilate you.  You’ll be less than nothing, here, and you’ll dread every single day of school just because of how horrible and soul-crushing it will be.  Are we clear?  Do you understand me?”

Bethany gave a slow nod.

“Good!”  Kara patted her on the cheek and headed for the door, the twins on her heel.

“Use cold water.”  Destiny added as they reached the door, which Veracity had opened for them.

“And rub gently with soap.”  Kismet finished, and the four Shining Stars left Bethany alone in the bathroom to think about exactly what had just happened.

 

*****

 

Cassie and Gemini sat in their room, sprawled out in opposite directions on their bed.

“I’m sorry you had to endure that.”  Cassie said.

“It was sort of worth it, to see June do what I have spent my entire time knowing Bethany wishing to do.”  Gemini replied, though she did not sound happy or content.

Cassie sighed.  “What do we do, Gemini?  We cannot stay silent, and Auggie is most likely correct.  This is most likely a natural part of growing up, and not a failure of our magical and chemical methods to push our growth in the desired direction--if anything, it is, most likely, a sign of their success.  However...what if they are failures?  What if we wake up in a week, and our voices are deeper?  I do not know what to do.”

“There are trans kids that are not us that make do.”  Gemini said, reaching to take her sister’s hand.  “We’ll do what they do.  Together.”

“...Yes.  I suppose we will.”  Cassie sighed.  “Though...I almost wish I had not given Auggie such an impossible task.  If my voice may leave, giving it one final hurrah would be...”

“...A preventative for later regret?  Yes.”  Gemini frowned.  “The shame to conceding to her may almost be worth it.”

“Almost.”  Cassie said, and then lifted her phone.  She had been hoping for a text or call from Auggie, but there was nothing.  “Why hasn’t she called, yet?”

 

“Senine, you have to do it.”  Auggie said, standing in front of the Vember-Nocturne-Burrey home television.  “Please?  It’s more important now than ever.”

Senine was on the couch with her torso across Avril’s lap and her head in Veracity’s.  “Faye!”  She called.  “I told you no visitors when I’m on a pile of ladies.”

“It’s so degrading to refer to us like that.”  Avril grumbled.

“Oh, isn’t it?”  Veracity sounded very pleased by that prospect.

“Okay, first of all, Faye’s gone.  She’s with Junie, probably talking about how she decked Bethany and how rad that was.  Second of all, Veracity, I’m kinkshaming.”

“I suppose that’s fair.”

“Third of all, I mean it, Senine.  Cassie really needs this, even if she’s not admitting it to herself.”

Senine rolled her eyes.  “Okay, Sparky, I’ll bite.  How the hell is getting her to sing in front of people--something we both know Cassie hates doing, even around her friends--going to make her feel  _ better _ about her voice?  Especially when she’s already full of raging dysphoria?”

“It’s because she’s full of dysphoria!  Look, Cassie and Gemma both have great voices, right?  Like, amazing voices.”

“Right.”

“So she--probably they because if Cassie does it her twin’ll do it to show her up--sings in front of everyone and gets a standing ovation.  Boom!  That’s a big boost to self confidence, don’t you think?”

“Unless she’s too nervous and can’t do it.”  Avril said.  

“Plus...Sparky, I get it.  You want to help your friend, great.  But I  _ hate _ dancing.  I absolutely can’t stand it and it has nothing to do with confidence.”

“Well, no.”  Veracity said.  “You hate your parents, and, because your mother pushed your dance lessons so much, you abhor it as a link between yourself and them.”

“You know, I don’t remember calling a 1-900 number, Ms. Cleo.”  Senine grumbled.  She sat up and looked at Auggie.  “Okay, I’ll tell you what.  I’ll do it, in part because I just realize that Mom would hate me dancing at a public school talent show--”

“Yes!”

“But!  If I win, then you owe me.  Big time.  If I ask you to do something--anything--you have to do it.” 

Auggie nodded.  “Yes, okay, absolutely, you got it.”

“You’re going to regret that.”  Veracity said.

“Nope!”

Senine grumbled.  “I’m going to lose all my cred.  Okay, get out.”

“Thanks, Senine!”  Auggie rushed out the door, her phone already out.  “You’ll probably regret this but it’s too late to back out now!”

Senine watched her leave and sighed.  “Well.  Better buy some new shoes.”

 

Cassie’s phone rang, and she put it to her ear.  “Hello?”

“I did it!  Cassie, I did it!  I owe Senine a huuuuuge favor but I did it!”

Cassie’s heart leapt and sank at the same time.  “You...did?  She is going to dance?”

Gemini shot up to a sitting position and gave Cassie a panicked look.

“Senine is going to dance, and I probably owe her my firstborn.  So, time to sign up!”

“Auggie...I don’t know.  Given current events--”

“Cass, the only negative reaction to your singing is when you stop doing it.  Your voice is very slightly deeper but it’s still beautiful!  Don’t let the Bethanys of the world choose your life for you.  I--and all of us--are going to be there when it’s over.  You’re my best friend and if I didn’t know this was gonna go great, I never would’ve tried to do it.”

Cassie smiled.  “Of course.  Gemini and I will sign up tomorrow.  I love you, Augusta.”

“I love you, Cassiopeia!  Talk to you later, okay?”

“Yes.  Always.”  Cassie hung up, and then dabbed at tears on her cheeks.  “...I am doing the song.  You’re not required to as well, but...”

Gemini smiled at her twin.  “Of course I am required to.  How else am I going to show you up?”

Cassie and Gemini hugged, then, in part because it was a touching moment, and also, because they both needed the familiar comfort before jumping directly into the deep end.

 

*****

 

“I’m still kinda in shock, Junie.”  Janice said from where she was sitting, on June’s bed.  June and Faye were sitting at the other end, with June leaning forward and Faye massaging her back and shoulders.  Amber was sitting at June’s desk, across the room.

“You and me both.”  June sighed.  “I don’t regret I did it but I do kind of regret getting suspended for a week.”

“She was being even meaner than normal.”  Faye frowned.  “It’s good that you did, Junie, because I was about to pounce!”

“Like, yeah?  I felt like, like, I was about to, like, rip the pipes out and, like, strangle her with them?  You, like, probably saved her life.”

“That both makes me feel better and worse.”  June looked down at her hands.  “I don’t think I’ve ever hit anyone before.  Except for Julius, when I was younger.”

Janice grinned at her.  “So you stabbed someone before you punched them?”

“My life is so weird and unfortunate.”

“Was, like, Julius mad?”  Amber asked.  June shook her head.

“No?  He bought me a burger and a new dress.”

“You should punch more bigots.”  Janice said.

“Right?”

“I’m just glad you weren’t expelled!”  Faye nuzzled against the back of June’s head.  “You shouldn’t have got in any trouble!  Don’t they care she was being mean?”

“She didn’t get caught being mean.”  Janice said.  “She got caught getting punched.  The only reason she’s getting three days is how many of us testified against her.”

“Well, I think you’re a hero, Junie.”  Faye stopped massaging her and hugged her around the middle.

“Heh, thanks.  Honestly, I hurt my hand more than I hurt her, did you guys know how hard skulls are?”

“You didn’t even hit her skull, you hit the soft cartilage in her nose.”  Janice teased.

“Hey!  I did my best, okay?  I punched a bigot in the face and that’s the important part.”

Amber sighed at her phone and put it down.

Faye gave her a concerned look.  “Oh no, Amber, are you okay?”

“Yeah, like...yeah, I like, guess.”  Amber stood up.  “I’m going to, like, head home?  I’ll like, see you guys later.”

The others watched her with obvious concern.

“Oh, no.”  Faye said.  “I bet this is because Auggie’s so busy with Cassie and Gemma!”

“Yeah.  Girl’s really been on edge, huh?”  Janice frowned.  “I really feel like that’s not gonna end well.”

 

*****

 

Vanra pouted at the Warden’s limp form.  “He passed out!  How disappointing.”

Zanra sighed dismally.  “It’s truly the worst!  It’s only been twelve straight hours of torture!”

Vanra pulled a handkerchief out of thin air and started to dab away the blood staining Zanra’s white dress.  “We should do something else, then!  I’d hate for us to get bored.”

“Oh!  Sister!  What if we tried again?  The Rangers are diurnal, they will be asleep, soon!  We’ll get ever so much time to gather energy.”

“Oh, sister, perfect!”  Vanra spit on the handkerchief and managed to, somehow, use it to clean the blood from the white fabric.  “We’ll get even closer to getting our prize.   
Zanra twirled in her now clean dress and giggled.  “Finally, sister!  I’m so happy!  Let’s go ruin some lives.”


	5. Episode 5:  Webs

Natalie Kerberos made a frustrated noise, and rested back in her chair.  Her head was pounding, and the magical riding crop in her lap was bent in her hands almost to the point of breaking.

Leah knocked on the door as she entered Natalie’s makeshift office inside Solar City Stellar Ranger HQ.  “Hey, Aunt Natalie, did I come at a bad time?”

Natalie shook her head. “No, Leah.  That’s a fraction of the problem.  I’ve confirmed that the ship is, indeed, the Fallen Star.  However, I’m incapable of getting my monsters anywhere near it, as there is an Antistellar field around the entirety of the prison.”

“An...antistellar field?”

She nodded.  “Yes.  It’s a magical field that prevents any and all stellar magic from crossing it, as well as any person with a star heart.”

“Wait, but...the girls faced both those Vanra and Zanra people and a prisoner, right?”

Natalie nodded once again.  “Yes.  I imagine they have a way to open a fraction of the field when they need to leave.  They’re capable of teleportation, so all they would require is a small hole, roughly the size of themselves and a prisoner, and either to leave that open or to use some way to remotely re-open the hole.  However, the field is invisible, so all I have to use to test it is to throw my beasts at it until I find the hole in question, which results in a great many lost, and then I must summon another, send it to the lake the long way, and begin again.”  She sighed.  “My head is pounding.  I need a drink.”

“Here.”  Leah pulled a flask from her jacket and handed it to Natalie.

She stared at it for a moment, looked up at Leah, and accept the flask, taking a swig from it and handing it back.  “I’m not sure, under normal circumstances, that I would approve, but, thank you.  Have you heard any word, from the girls or the rangers?”

Leah winced.  “Well, from the girls, I’ve heard that June got suspended for punching a bigot in the face.  But, um...from the rangers.  Well.  It’s not good news.”

“Let’s have it, then.”

“Well, for starters, the Fallen Star is a prison ship for the worst magical offenders in the galaxy.  I have a list of known prisoners and their crimes--Wilaf, for instance?  Stole the crown jewels of no less than a dozen different planets before being caught.  There’s about a thousand of them, in total--who knows how many survived the crash, though.”

“That...is bad but it could also be worse.”

“Oh.  Yeah, sorry.”  Leah gave her an apologetic look.  “That’s...not the bad news.”

“Oh.”

“We aren’t getting backup.  Well.  We aren’t getting the backup we want.  Earth, and Solar City in particular, has been declared...Quarantined.  Under the authority of the Kingdom of Frost.  We’re to wait for their inquisition to arrive so they can search for and root out any signs of Despair-corruption that may be left over from Lanessa.  The Stellar Rangers are not to step foot on Earth, and everyone outside of Solar City is strictly warned to not come, either, lest they also be subjected to the Quarantine.”

Natalie stared at Leah for a moment, and then set her mouth in a scowl.  “That is very, very bad news.”

“I thought it probably was, yeah.”

“This is...Why do the Stellar Rangers continue to fail these girls?”  Natalie turned from her desk, and looked out the window, into the courtyard, and the dim blue glow from the flowers beyond.  “Is it because June is a scion of Nemesis?”

“Can...can the Frostians really do that?  Make it so we can have no backup?  Just decide to come to Earth and interrogate us?  That’s going to cause chaos, and not just here, all the way through the planet.”

“They can do worse, Leah.”  Natalie did not look at her as she spoke.  “They can do so much worse.”

 

*****

 

Amber walked swiftly through the streets of Solar City, trying not to cry.  She had not spoken to Auggie, yet, about what she had talked to Veracity about.  She had not told Auggie that she still felt bad about how close Auggie and the Schumachers were.

Amber hated feeling like this.  She detested every single part of the pain that was surging through her and how weak and dumb and confused it made her feel.

The autumn sunset had long since come and gone, and though it was only around eight, the streets were fairly empty, which Amber was exceptionally grateful for, as she did not want a concerned passer-by to ask her why she looked upset.

She walked past an alley, and then suddenly turned towards it as she suddenly caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye.  She quickly turned to it, moments from summoning her Adamant Rifle.

She saw nothing in the alley save for a dumpster.  Amber groaned and shook her head, turning to go back on her route, when she heard a giggling noise from above her.

Amber summoned her rifle and looked up.  Her eyes widened, and she let out a cry of alarm, firing a single shot before everything went black.

 

*****

 

“Auggie.”  June said, phone to her ear.  “Auggie, slow down.  What’s wrong?”

“Amber never came home and she’s not answering her cell.”  Auggie said.  “I need to go look for her, is Faye-Faye still there?”

June was standing in the entry room of her home.  Faye and Janice were here as well, and had been in the process of saying goodbye when Auggie had called.  “Yeah, she and Janice are both here.”

“Okay, I’m going to zip over to your guys’ place.  Could you get her to sniff out Amber?”

June looked to Faye and lowered the phone.  “Hey, Faye?  Amber’s missing, could you sniff her out?”

“Oh, of course!  I hope she’s okay but I’ll find her in a jiffy!”

June pulled the phone back to her ear.  “She’s in, and I am too.”

“Me, too.”

“So’s Janice.”

Auggie breathed a sigh of relief.  “Oh, wow, thanks, guys, I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

“Junie, what happened?”  Faye asked as June started to pull her coat on.  “Is Amber okay???”

“She never made it home and she isn’t answering her phone.”  June said as she got ready to leave the house.  “Let’s go, she’ll meet us downstairs.”

“I don’t like it.”  Janice said as they walked towards the elevator.  “I mean, more than I’d usually not like something.  Do you think a prisoner or those two twins...”

“If they did, they’ll want her energy.”  June stepped into the elevator as it opened.  “So she’ll be safe.  Well.  Pretty safe.  Hopefully.”

Faye sniffled.  She dabbed at her eyes with her sleeves.  “I hope she’s not hurt!  She’s one of my best friends!”

“We can take care of it.”  June said, but she was not sure she exactly believed anything she was saying.  “We beat Lanessa, we can beat whatever these evil twins have to offer.”

The elevator eventually opened up, and June and the others headed out of the apartment building.

Auggie was there, her hand on her knees, bent over and panting with a thick sheen of sweat over her forehead.  “Hey...guys...ready...to...go...?”

“Holy crap, Auggie, did you use your powers all the way here?”  Janice asked, incredulous.  “I thought you could only do that lightning speed thing in short bursts.”

“Yeah...well...it’s...not...a...good...idea...really...but...”

Faye started to sniff the air, and then started onto Amber’s trail.  “This way!”

The others followed her, though Auggie was moving a bit more slowly than the others, but also, without stopping at all, even though her legs and lungs both burned and her head was pounding.

 

*****

 

When Amber came to, she tried to move and immediately found herself stuck fast.  She was trapped in strands of some sort of sticky, ethereal substance, and was also secured tightly to the floor with it.

She was in a building of some sort that was nearly pitch black, save for a few red emergency lights.  It looked like a store room, though she could not tell what it was storing save for a few jagged, threatening-looking shadows.

A figure floated in front of her, grinning with a wide, toothy smile.  She was an arachon, the same species as Lada and Wreqluze, with six glittering, blue eyes and smooth, scarlet skin.  Her white hair was set into five tails that jutted out from seemingly random directions.  She had four upper arms, each with two forearms, though her top left forearm was missing a hand.  She wore a white prisoner jumpsuit over which she had forced a poofy dress over--one that Amber was fairly certain had once belonged to a doll.

“Oh.  You’re awake.”  Something cruel laced her calm, placid voice.  She held the matte black conch-like thing up, which made an awful whirring noise that contained elements of the nails-on-chalkboard sound.  Amber began to glow rusty red, and that glow started to be pulled into the conch.  “Good.  I wanted you to be awake for this.”

“Like, what is your--ugh--deal!”  Amber asked, struggling in vain against the silky cords.  She felt the metal resonate around her.  “Like, let me go!”

“No.”  The arachon said with a casual disinterest.  “You’re mine, now, until it’s time for me to become a monster.  The twins told me they could do it, and I’ll love to see what I can do as one.  But first, the boring work.  Unsatisfying.”

She felt staples nearby, and a bit farther, she felt tiny screws, fastened into something.  “Like, whatever???  You WANT to be a monster?”

“One might argue I already am.”  The prisoner purred.  “I am Theris  Wodi, I was imprisoned for, well quite a large number of murders.  I captured my victims much as I have you, slit them open, and devoured their innards while bathing in their blood.  Unfortunately, you must be alive for this.  It’s my payment for the gift of becoming a beast.”

“Like, gross?”  Amber was starting to feel weak, and the aura around her was getting dimmer.  She felt pipes and wiring in the walls, and reached out to it.

“I started with males.  It’s ‘frowned upon’ to eat males these days, but they’re smaller and weaker and couldn’t really stop me.”  Theris had a wistful look on her face.

“Like, that’s even grosser?  Also, like, iron maiden.”

The pipes and wires erupted from the walls, re-shaping themselves into huge spears of metal that all shot towards the prisoner.  Theris’s eyes went wide, and she leapt back, dropping the conch on the ground.  She only barely dodged the spears, in part due to a web of shimmering cords appearing all around her that stuck them fast.

One of the spears shot across the cords binding Amber.  She then fell back, fighting her way out of them and summoning her rifle as she hit the ground.  Theris looked up in a panic, and waved her hand, causing gossamer strands to appear from all around Amber and try to entangle her once again.

Amber fired a shot, and Theris recoiled as a bullet struck her upper right shoulder.  She hissed, and then strands covered Amber from every angle.  Theris floated towards her, snarling under her breath.

“Vermin!”  She hissed.  “You aren’t allowed to touch me.”

Amber struggled against the gossamer strands.  She reached out to try to rip the metal back to her, but strands of gossamer now filled the room from every angle, and the spears were caught but could advance no further.

“You’re going to be cut, for that.”  Theris hissed.  “The twins said I could kill you after the energy was collected.  Once they have made me a monster as I truly am, you will be my first victim.  But I can maim you, now.”

Theris held up the conch with one hand, and with the other, she held a seam ripper with an almost comically long and jagged blade.  “Let’s start with that, shall we?”

 

*****

 

Faye sprinted through the alley, with Auggie hot on her heels, despite her fatigue.

June trailed behind, and had to pause to catch her breath on a nearby building.  Janice stayed with her, going a bit ahead just so she could keep an eye on Faye and Auggie’s rapid movement.

“It’s...not a good sign.”  June said as she started to jog after them.  She was out of running.  “That Faye yelled ‘blood’ and ran off.”

Janice nodded, and had her phone out.  “I’m dialing Cassie, boss.  If Amber’s hurt, we’ll be ready to help her.”

 

Faye and Auggie, far ahead of the other two, came to a stop in front of a small toy store.  Its front door looked, at first glanced, to be closed, but on closer inspection, it was slightly off its hinges, and was being held in place by gossamer, shimmering strands.  In the window of the store was a large, child-sized doll that seemed to have been stripped and left discarded.

Faye slashed into the door with her claws, shredding it into pieces.  She charged inside without looking.  “Amber!  Amber, it’s Faye!  I’m here to--”

Faye walked right into something she could not see, and found she was stuck fast.  Something pulled her into the store, leaving Auggie outside.

“Faye!”  Auggie shouted, and started into the toy store, but stopped before she could step into the nearly invisible, shimmering strands along it.  She lifted a hand, and tossed a ball of electricity in.  It crackled and hung in the air in front of her, filling the dark store with sparking, pulsing light.

The store was full of strands of shimmering web, many of which held various dolls and action figures and let them hang from the ceiling of the store.  Faye was wrapped in these strands, and was being dragged through the store, towards the back room.

Faye’s claws managed to slash at some of the bindings holding her, and dug into the floor, anchoring her in place.  She slammed one claw a bit farther up, pulling back against the force of the line.

Auggie summoned her batons and pointed one at the line.  A bolt of lightning flashed forward and burst around the line with a rumble of thunder, destroying the line and singing the tile below it.

Now that she was no longer being pulled back, Faye was able to slash herself free and pull herself to her feet.

June and Janice ran up behind Auggie.  Auggie gave them a worried look.

“There’s spiderweb all over the place!”  Auggie said, looking from Faye and then back to the others.  “How’re we gonna get through it?”

Janice stepped forward.  “Okay.  Maybe...stay back?”  She started to glow dark red, and stepped into the store.  Heat washed from her, warping the blackening the tile around her, destroying toys, but also burning away the web around her.  As she walked forward, the others followed behind, until she reached Faye who had hacked a path to them.

Janice turned her heat down, and the four of them entered the back room of the toy store.

Amber was hanging in front of them, wrapped in web and completely unconscious.  Her right leg was horribly, incredibly mangled, and was dripping blood onto the ground below.  She looked ashen and pale, and her breaths were coming shallowly.

“...Almost all of her energy’s gone.”  June said as Faye darted forward and cut Amber down.  Auggie immediately rushed over to her, cradling her girlfriend in her arms.

“Amber.  Amber!”  Auggie called, shaking her lightly. “She...she can’t...”

“Auggie, listen.”  June said.  “Cassie’s on her way.  Go meet her, okay?  Octy’s bringing her by whirlwind, she’ll be here soon.  We’ll handle whatever did this.”

Auggie nodded, and zoomed out of the room, Amber in hand.

“Tsk.”  Came a voice in front of them.  The drop ceiling opened, and Theris dropped down, holding the conch-like thing, which was now glowing a familiar dull red, and her oversized seam ripper.  “I wanted to kill her first when I get my prize.”

“Why did you do that to her?!”  June asked.  “Why would you hurt her like that?!”

“Because I’m a monster.  You rangers managed to confine me, once.  But now...”  She grinned, and held the conch up.  “My saviors!  I have done my part, now you do yours!”

Faye lunged at Theris, claws high, but found herself entangled by webbing.  Theris’s mouth twitched into a smile, and she lashed out her cruel-looking seam ripper.

Before it could make contact, however, a ball of brilliant light smashed her in the face, causing Theris to stumble back. Janice slammed her foot down, and a slab of ground shot up under Theris, knocking her into the air and dazing her even further.

Faye howled, and ripped herself free from the webbing, leaving some skin behind.  The howl caused Theris to flinch on top of everything else, so when Faye leapt forward, digging her claws into Theris’s chest, she was not prepared to fight back.  Faye let out a snarl as her body twisted and grew, turning Faye into a chimera of animals, with a snake tail, long, savage claws, and large, gnashing jaws.   She screamed with rage, ripping into Theris as fast as she could.

Theris let out a gurgling cry and fell under the onslaught, until she was a pile of bloody, broken parts.  Faye’s body shrunk back into her human form and stumbled back, into June’s waiting arms.  She was sobbing.

“She...she hurt Amber and...and she was so proud of it and...and...”

June patted her on the back and hugged her tightly.  “It’s okay.  She’s not going to hurt anyone again.”

Janice stepped forward and moved to pick up the conch.  Before her hands could close around it, however, a blast of light fired right at her.  Janice dove out of the way, and the wall between the back room and the main room of the store was destroyed by a brilliant pulse of primal light.

Zanra reached down and picked up the conch.  Vanra, beside her, lowered her now smoldering violin.

“Now, now.”  Vanra said.

“That doesn’t belong to you.”  Zanra finished.

“It’s ours.”

“And it’s full, Vanra!”  Zanra beamed.  “It’s full of untainted star energy!”

Vanra grinned.  “Excellent!  Though...”  Vanra’s grin faded into a disappointed look.  “She left a bit of a mess, didn’t she.”

Zanra’s bright smile also faded.  “Oh no!  You’re right!  We promised her monsterhood, too.”

“...Oh well.”  Vanra shrugged.  “I suppose we don’t need to pay up, now.”

“Oh, but sister!  We promised!”  Zanra had wide, pleading eyes.

June let go of Faye and stepped in front of her.  “What do you want, why are you doing this?  Why..why would you just let her do that?”

Vanra rolled her eyes.  “Well, Nemesis is annoying me, now, so yes, my most darling and precious, sister, let’s do what we promised.”

Zanra clapped her hands together and tossed the conch behind her, where it vanished in a flash of darkness.  She pulled her harp from her chest, and, along with her sister, began to play.

June pulled the Penumbra from her chest.  “Don’t let them finish the song!”

“Ha!”  Vanra said with a grin as her bow made a frenzied pace across the bridge of the violin.

“‘Let.’”  Zanra finished with a matching, sharp smile.

Janice lifted her foot and slammed it down, sending a shard of molten earth up from the floor towards Zanra.  Zanra vanished without missing a beat in her song, reappearing behind the Stellar Rangers and continuing to play with an increasing, frenzied pace.

Theris’s remains lifted off the ground and liquified, roiling in a bloody, swirling orb of gore.

June started to play a song on her guitar.

Faye howled, but neither of the twins flinched.  Faye charged towards Vanra, claws raised, but Vanra vanished as well, slightly to the side, letting Faye crash into the wall as her bow danced along the strings.

June’s song also picked up tempo, building the song faster and faster.  Black and white energy danced around the tuning fork-like blades that had protruded from the base of her guitar.

The bloody mess began to expand, and shapes started to form within it and then protrude from it.

June turned to Zanra and played faster, the song reaching a crescendo.  “Dark Star Riot!”

Zanra kept playing, but Vanra’s eyes went wide.  She stopped her song abruptly, and began another one.

A lance of black and white energy shot directly for Zanra.  Before it could hit, however, a brilliant barrier of light appeared around Zanra, deflecting the Dark Star Riot upwards, where it blasted directly through the roof of the toy store.

A blast of molten rock shot at Vanra, knocking her through a wall.  Janice grinned.  “Yes!  Got her!”

“VANRA!”  Zanra shouted.  Faye tried to leap at her, but a wave of darkness exploded out from her, knocking the Stellar Rangers away.  Zanra vanished, and then reappeared next to the wall, where she helped Vanra up.  Vanra looked dazed, but unharmed.

“Vanra, don’t scare me like that!  You could have been hurt!”  Zanra hugged her tightly.

Vanra hugged her back.  “I’m sorry, sister!  I couldn’t let them hurt you, you’re far too precious to me!  I let my guard down.”  Vanra pulled away from the hug and smiled sheepishly at her sister.  “Forgive your poor, frightened sister?”

“My beloved, precious, irreplaceable sister.”  Zanra said, voice dripping with admiration.  “Of course, if you can forgive your stubborn, reckless sister.”

“Of course, my dearest, sweetest sibling.”  The twins hugged again.

Faye and Janice helped June to her feet.  They were a little battered and bruised from the sudden blast, but nothing serious.

The ball of blood was convulsing and twisting and expanding, still.  A long, spindly arm protruded from it, one that ended in long, sharp claws.  Seven more arms protruded from it from all angles.

“Oh, no!”  Zanra said, holding her sister tighter.  “The monster is becoming unstable!”

“That’s awful!”

“For them.”  They said as one.

Zanra and Vanra looked to each other, and then burst out into laughing as they faded away in bursts of dark and light, respectively.

The thing that had once been Theris took a shape.  It was a misshapen ball of arms, mouths, and parts that looked almost like a recognizable body.  It floated towards the Rangers, each of its half-formed mouths was screaming in rage and pain.  Its flesh seemed to tear, rip, and shiver with every motion, and its unfinished core followed suit, its topography changing wildly with every movement it made.

June started to play again.  The monster that used to be Theris twitched, and then part of its body exploded from it.  The monster screamed in pain as blood red strands of webbing burst all over the Stellar Rangers and pinned them to the ground.  The webbing was hot and sticky and physically hurt to touch.

The monster scrambled closer to them, half floating, and half using its twisted claws to pull itself closer.

Janice tried to heat up, but the webbing just matched her heat.  Faye struggled to get a claw under the line, but she was bound too tightly to do anything.  June banished the Penumbral form and summoned her daggers, using the extra space she now had to start cutting herself out.

The Theris-monster hissed at her and raised its claws to strike.  Faye howled, and the monster recoiled briefly, as June cut herself the rest of the way up and stood.

Faye strained her muscles as hard as she could.  Her flesh screamed at her as it strained under the web, but she managed to stretch it just enough to slash the webbing open and pull herself to her feet.

A burst of lava shot out of the earth and covered Janice briefly, the heat being strong enough that Faye, June, and also, the monster, had to scramble away from to keep from suffering serious burns.  Janice pushed herself out of it, covered in minor burns, but otherwise intact.  She lifted her mace as she stepped out of the molten slag, which was now glowing red with heat.

The Theris-monster screamed from many mouths.  Its gaping wound twisted and bulged, and then three more clawed arms pulled themselves from its body.  Its huge jaws opened, and bloody webbing hung from its mouths like a dozen tongues.

June started to charge an attack when three blue-fletched arrows zipped past her right ear and sunk into the monster’s flesh.  She jumped, and looked around as Octy stepped past her, bow in hand.

Octy was not smiling.  In fact, he was glaring at the monster with a look of pure, unadulterated rage and hate.  He fired several more arrows into it, and snarled, “You hurt my sister’s girlfriend.”  Every single word was punctuated by another arrow.  “You nearly killed the person she cares about.”  

It screamed in pain, and the front of its body burst, sending another spray of web towards the Stellar Rangers, but a burst of wind struck the spray before it could hit them, knocking it back into the monster, and then, knocking the beast, now tangled in its own web, into the wall hard enough the crack the drywall.

“No mournful bell shall ring your burial.”  Octy growled, firing another volley of arrows.  Each one found one of the creature’s hands and pinned it to the wall behind it.  “There will be no funeral rite or man in mourning reeds.  Unlike Tamora, you’re not even good enough to be thrown to the beasts or birds of prey.”

The monster was screaming in rage.  Lines of bloody webbing began to grow out from it, anchoring it to the wall and spreading rapidly through the room.  Octy charged an arrow with a windstorm, and shot it out, slamming it right into the creature and ripping it--and its webbing--through both that wall and the wall behind it, before veering up and slamming it through the ceiling.

Octavian held out one hand, moving it almost imperceptibly.  There was a whistling noise, and then the monster that was once Theris, combined with large chunks of wall and its bloody webbing, smashed back down, through the hole June had made with the Dark Star Riot, earlier, and into the ground.

The Theris-monster was now a twitching, convulsing mess on the floor, even less recognizable than it had been, before.  Octy reached out, and a swirling whirlwind picked up all of the discarded spears that Amber had made earlier, as well as the monster.

June could no longer watch this.

Octavian was breathing hard when the whirlwind faded and the thing that had once been Theris was still and broken on the floor.

“Holy crap, Octy!”  Janice called.  “Ho.  Ly.  Crap.”

“I...got a little carried away, I’m afraid.”  Octavian said with a very chagrined expression.  “Seeing Auggie that worried caused me, to, perhaps, go a little overboard.  That...was the proper creature, yes?”

“Was.”  June said, and nodded.  “Yeah, after its corpse got monsterfied.  Well, mostly monsterfied.  I guess when we interrupt the monster process, the thing that ends up getting made is...kind of horrific but also I think a bit less effective?”

“It’s okay, Octy, I got carried away, too.”  Faye said.  “How’s Amber?  Is she okay??”

“She will be, yes.  My love was confident in her ability to save her life, though I do not know more.”

Janice was kneeling by the mess that had been Theris.  She started to poke it with her mace, and then her eyes went wide and she backed up.  “Uh.  Guys?”

June looked to her.  “What?”

The body of the monster was starting to swell up, pulsating at odd angles.  A shimmering blue glow was pulsing from within its ruined skin, flashing faster and faster as the thing swelled larger and larger.

“We should probably run.”  Janice said, and was already running out of the toy store as she said that.  June started to run, but Faye picked her up in her arms and sprinted.  There was a tailwind behind them, pushing the four of them out of the toy store in record time.

The whole store pulsed blue, and then there was a brilliant flash.  Blue flame filled the store, and consumed it--and some of the surrounding scenery--in moments.  A smoldering haze remained around its ashes, before it evaporated upwards.

“...Mental note.”  June said as she stared, wide-eyed, at the burned store.  “Unstable monsters explode when killed.”

 

*****

 

Ms. Kerberus stood in front of the assembled Rangers, minus Cassie, Auggie, and Amber.  “As you know, tonight, Amber was abducted by another prisoner, working for Vanra and Zanra.  This one was Theris Wodi.  She was a serial killer of some renown, and also a trouble prisoner at Fallen Star.”  She lifted her phone and tapped a few things.  Every person in the room received an email.  “I have sent all of you a manifest of the prisoners in the Fallen Star.  It’s not up to date, but it’s the most up to date manifest we currently have access to.  Familiarize yourself with all thousand prisoners, their crimes and abilities.  While it’s unlikely all have survived, we should be ready for any of them showing up at any time.

“To that effect, no one goes anywhere alone, anymore.  We should always move at least in pairs, to prevent this from occurring again.”  Ms. Kerberus sighed.  “I would advise that you all stay here, but, given past encounters, I’m not certain this facility is any more secure against intrusion than the Tower ended up being.

“Now.”  She put her hands on the podium in front of her.  “Did we learn anything new?”

Janice raised her hand.  “Yeah, lots.  Even though they look and act like they’re in perfect sync, Vanra and Zanra are capable of being individually messed with.  And like, even though Zanra’s outwardly more dramatic, it was Vanra that dropped what she was doing and messed up the monster creation.  Plus, if monster creation goes wrong, stuff gets real freaky.”

“It was a game.”  June said from her spot next to Destiny and Faye.  When she was aware that everyone was looking at her, following her statement, she looked a little startled, and then said, a bit louder, “Both times the went after us, first priority was getting that seashell thing back.  Fighting us always seems like something they’re doing for fun.  Or...casually, they’re not really invested in it.  Because...”  June hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Because they could have killed us already if they wanted to.  Vanra and Zanra were in my room, the other day.  They didn’t hurt me, they just said...that if people will keep getting hurt if we keep trying to stop them, but then this happened and...”

“...They don’t control the prisoners much.”  Senine said.  “From what you guys have said, they just give them a conch and an ultimatum, right?”

“Right.”  June nodded.

“That’s the big problem, then.  Everyone else who’s come after us has been an organized army.”  Senine lifted her phone, which had the list displayed on it.  “Every single one of these prisoners is a different person with different goals who’s working for the twins for different reasons.”  She made a face.  “In other words, this whole ordeal is going to be total fucking chaos, and we need to be ready for that.”

“Plus.”  Kismet piped in.  “These evil twins are...weird, right?  Kind of off.  It’s not just the prisoners that aren’t gonna be predictable.”

“And they have Penumbral weapons.”  June added.  “Which means they’re drawing on some of the same energies I do.  I...don’t like the implications of what that means they’re capable of--I don’t even know everything the Penumbra can do, I’ve only used a tiny fraction of the Penumbra’s real power.  I don’t know if they’re as restricted as I am.”

“But....June.”  Destiny put a hand on June’s hand.  “They’ve got, what, like a small fraction, too, right?  No way they have too much of the Penumbra, right?”

Leah spoke up, now.  “The thing is, Destiny, even like, five percent of the Penumbra would be a terrifying amount of power.”

“Yeah, exactly!  And....there’s something else.”  June looked down.  “When Lanessa had the Penumbra, all I could feel was how much it wanted to be back with me, and how much I wanted it to be back, too.  But, this time....this was different.  I can feel that it’s Penumbral, but...it’s not trying to get back.  I can’t feel it wanting to be back--not as strongly, anyway.  I don’t know if I could reclaim it as easily as before.”

Avril’s brow furrowed.  “What does that mean?”

“I think it means...Vanra and Zanra are the people their penumbral weapons belong to.  Somehow.  They aren’t stolen, they’re exactly where they were given.”

 

*****

 

“So, Cass.”  Auggie said as she and Cassie stood outside the Stellar Ranger HQ Infirmary.  “Tell it to me straight.  How’s she doing?”

Cassie sighed.  “Well, considering the circumstances.  The damage was very, very extensive, and very, very concentrated to the area of her right leg.  There was deep tissue damage, and nerve damage, and damage to the bones.  I’ve healed as much as I can, today, however...She will not have full range of motion in that leg for a very long time, if it’s ever quite back.  I’ll do my best to restore it, but...”

Auggie’s eyes widened, and then she slumped.  “It means no cheerleading for a while, huh?”

Cassie nodded.  “I’m afraid so, yes.  She will be on crutches for at least a week.  It’s...worse than Senine was, after she used Ruin.  This Theris was deliberate and careful in making her leg as bad as possible, and then sealed some of the wounds with her webbing so she would not bleed out, and then worked on other parts of Amber’s leg.  There’s only so much I can do at a time.  I’m so, so very sorry, Auggie.”

She shook her head.  “It’s not your fault.  You helped her as much as you can.  Thanks, Cass.  Can I see her?”

“No.  She asked me to make her sleep.  I’m afraid it was too painful for her to be awake, and the loss of almost all of her stellar energy left her exhausted.  She is currently in a healing trance.  We will see how much progress she makes when she wakes up.”

“...How could they do this?”  Auggie looked to the door.  “How could they let someone like that go?”

“I do not know.”  Cassie hugged Auggie.  “But I know we will stop them.”

Auggie snorted.  “Yeah, sure.  As long as we figure out what they’re doing.”

 

*****

 

“Three percent, sister!”  Zanra hopped up and down, holding the conch over her head.  It was no longer glowing with stolen light.  “Three percent!  That’s more than the first hundred prisoners AND the guards gave, combined!”

Vanra hugged her sister around the middle, lifting her into the air in a twirling hug that poofed out both of their dresses.  “We’re at nearly five percent, now!  Oh, my dearest, sweetest sister, we’ve come so far already!”

The room they were in was dark, save for a glowing, slightly curved line, extending from the base of the wall up about five feet on the wall.  It was slowly shifting colors in various rainbow patterns, though rust red was by far the most common color.

“It’s a shame that it’s unwise to go after the Stellar Rangers more!”  Zanra pouted.  “Look at how helpful she was!  I wish they would help us on their own!”

“I know, sister, but we must be careful.  Nemesis’s new form is weak and unskilled, that much cannot be denied, but the Penumbra is still a deadly weapon we cannot afford to allow to hurt us, now.  Not when we are so very, very close.”

Zanra pulled away from her sister, and turned to the glowing line.  “But, sister...how can we avoid them?!  It seems nigh impossible!”

“My beloved sibling, not to fear!  We will simply send more monsters, next time!”

“...More monsters, my lovely mirror...and something else!  I have heard they have a festival soon that’s just beaming with light!”

“Why, sister.”  They both said at once.  “That gives me a lovely idea.”

Zanra and Vanra looked at each other, grinned, and began to cackle in complete sync, that echoed throughout the vast, dark, empty room.


	6. Episode 6:  Talent, Part 1

“It’s almost time, my precious, adored sister!”  Zanra was hopping up and down and smiling.

Vanra took her hands and jumped up and down as well.  “Our game, sister!  It’s almost time for our wonderful game!”

“I’m so happy, sister!”  Zanra beamed.  “Oh, I do so wonder how they will do, and who will participate!  We haven’t even met a couple of them yet!  I’m so excited!”

“All these terrible humans get to play our amazing game!”

“They should thank us.”  They both said at once, and then burst into wicked laughter that echoed through the empty halls of the prison ship.

“After all.”

“Humans are so much more interesting.”

“When they’re in pain.”

 

*****

 

“Kara!  Kara Kara Kara!”

Kara winced as she closed her locker, and found herself surrounded by classmates, one of whom was wearing a Shining Stars t-shirt.  The wince was immediately replaced by relaxed posture, and a casual, friendly smile.  “Oh, hey.  What’s up?”

The girl with the shirt said, “I can’t wait to see you in the talent show, tonight!  I love your voice so much!”

“That’s great!  It’s always nice to meet a fan, but, I’m not competing, tonight.”

The entire group looked crestfallen.  “You’re...not?  But you’d win for sure!  You have such a cute voice!”

“That’s very nice of you to say, but sorry!  It’s too late to sign up, anyway.”  Kara patted the main fan on the shoulder and moved past them.  “But you’ll definitely hear me singing, I feel like we’re going to be here for a while.  Maybe I’ll even join choir.”

“I’m in choir, too!”  She said with a big, enthusiastic smile.  “I’m sure Ms. Meadows will let you in!”

“Thanks!”  Kara mentally kicked herself for even mentioning choir.  “I’ll keep that in mind.  But, I’m going to go hang out with the girls.  I’ll definitely definitely definitely take you up on that choir thing.  Do you wanna take a selfie with me?”

The whole group looked excited at that prospect, and Kara found herself spending the next fifteen minutes taking selfies with every single member of the group of fans.  Her smile held even as anxiety welled up inside of her.

Once everyone, including everyone who had lined up for a selfie after the fans had already began getting them, was finished, Kara headed towards the school library.

Janice was sitting at a long table towards the back of the library with Cassie, Gemini, and, oddly enough, Avril.  Kara sat down with them.

“I can’t believe you’re using your free period to do more studying.”  Kara made a face.  “I’d rather have to take another fifteen minutes of selfies with obnoxious fans than study any more than I have to.”

“I guess that’s why I’m honor roll and you aren’t.”  Gemini said with a smug grin.

“Did someone talk?”  Kara glanced around.  “I don’t see anyone.”

“Guys.”  Janice said, looking up from the thick notebook in front of her.  There were three more weathered notebooks on the table, one with each other person at the table, save for Kara.  “Focus?  We really need this.”

“I’m afraid that I am still having little luck in translating your shorthand.”  Cassie put her notebook down.

Kara made a face.  “You’re still using that?”

“It’s for my notes!”  Janice said defensively.  “No one else has to read them.  Besides, Avril’s reading them just fine!”

Kara gave her a baffled look.  “How??  She doesn’t even use letters!”

Avril shrugged.  “I can read it., but not understand it.  They’re talking about a lot of things that I don’t know anything about.  I’m mostly just copying the words down for other people to read.”

“What even is this stuff, anyway?”  Kara snatched the notebook away from Gemini, who pawed after it but could not quote grab it back.

“It’s all the notes I wrote last year, when we were looking up things about Lanessa and Despair and the Penumbral Instruments and the Kingdom of Frost.”  Janice sighed.  “Unfortunately, these three notebooks are everything that survived when the Tower was destroyed.  None of the books, and none of their--”  She pointed at the Schumachers, “notes survived it, either.”

“...Is this why you brought me here?  To read your notebooks?”

“Yeah!  You tried to learn my shorthand, once!  You might do better reading than anyone else.”  Janice beamed.

Gemini smirked at Kara.  “What, did you expect a library makeout session or something?”

“No, god, don’t be an idiot.”  Kara said, not really admitting that that was not too far off the mark of what she had wanted from a library meeting.  “Well, I might as well, I don’t have a talent show to prepare for.”  She looked to the Schumachers.  “You two have a duet to perform, why aren’t you practicing on the stage like everyone else is supposed to be?”

“Wait, you’re not in it?”  Gemini pouted.  “I wanted to beat you!  That’s depressing.”

“Sorry, you’ll have to make up for being absolutely destroyed in the rap battle some other time.”

“Ha!  You think you won that?”

“Anyway, Kara.”  Cassie said, interrupting whatever that was about to become.  “We are not practicing because the idea of doing it is incredibly stressful, and thus have decided to do it after school so we can have a few hours before the performance without anyone else around.”

“Senine is also doing that.”  Avril said from her spot at the other end of the table.

Kara had no idea if Avril was dating Senine and/or Veracity, and she never really felt as though she could get away with asking.  “Why’re you worried?  They’re going to see the performance tonight.  This way you get a rehearsal of doing it in front of people.”

Gemini visibly paled.  “We do not want to do that.  Anyway, why aren’t you doing it?”

“Because I don’t want to win?  Honestly, Destiny shouldn’t even be participating but she’s too enraptured by playing with her girlfriend to care about an unfair contest.”

Gemini scoffed.  “What, because you’re so good?”

“First of all, yes, but that’s not it.  I’m famous.  Skill doesn’t always win things like this.  It wouldn’t be fair, and it’s not going to be fair that Dezzy’s in it.  If I’m going to win something like this, I don’t want it handed to me.  And if I won, that’s basically all I’ll be able to think I won it for, no matter how good I did.”  Kara put down the notebook.  “Also, Jan, I’m looking at this shorthand, and you’re one of my best friends, but you don’t understand the loathing I just felt from realizing I can sort of understand it.”

Janice grinned.  “You never forget Aerie Shorthand, no matter how much you might wanna.”

“So, Avril.”  Kara glanced over at her.  “Are you going to be in it?  What do you even like, anyway?  The only thing I know about you is that you like swords, ladies, and water.  And that you maybe signed your name with a mermaid, once?”

Avril muttered something about never being able to live that down.  “I do things.  That I enjoy doing.”

“Liiiiike....what?”

Avril blushed, and pulled the notebook up.  “Things.”

Gemini shook her head.  “You’re wasting your time, you know.  Not even June knows what her hobbies are, and she lives with her.”

Cassie nodded.  “Yes, and she is very private.  She does not even let Senine or June into her room, and those are the people she is closest too.”

“Senine has been inside.  Briefly.  With her eyes closed.”

“Jan, how has this not triggered your mystery senses hardcore?”   
“It has, but I’m trying to be polite and respect her privacy.”

Avril peeked out from over the top of the notebook.  “Thank you.”

“Even if it drives me completely nuts.”

Kara studied her for a moment.  “It’s either something really nerdy or really girly, I think.”

Avril put down the notebook and stood up, her face blushing darker.  “I’m going to get some air.  Away from this questioning.”

“Aw, come on!  There’s no need to be ashamed!  We all have stupid things we like.”  Kara gestured to Gemini. “For instance, some people find Gemini attractive.  On this team, even!  I’m not sure how one twin of a pair gets all of the attractiveness but somehow that’s how it ended up.”

Gemini threw a pencil at her.

 

*****

 

The school’s auditorium was something of a madhouse.  There were two dozen acts in the talent show, and twenty of those acts were here, now, all vying for stage time.  There were two or three people to the stage at once, and at any given point in time, at least three teenagers were shouting at each other about turn order.

“I am so, so glad I don’t have to deal with any of these mouth breathers.”  Senine said where she sat, on the floor, next to June and Destiny.

“You’re gonna eventually.  You’re not gonna be the only one waiting until after school, after all.”  Destiny said as she tuned her guitar.

“Yeah, but there’s going to be way fewer asses to kick, then.”

June was miming strumming the guitar, her fingers above the strings.  There was a beat in her head, steady and repetitive, and she could feel an intense desire to play along with it.  Whenever she tried, however, the song eluded her.  It was not a beat she was entirely unfamiliar with. It was just a simple sequence of four quick notes, followed by a very slight pause, over and over again, filling her head and at the same time, slipping away when she tried to play long.

“Hey, babe.”  Destiny nudged her.  “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.  There’s just something...I want to play?  But I’m having guitarist’s block.”  June frowned.  “There’s a beat in my head and it’s not even a hard beat?  There are like, ten things I can play off the top of my head that could go with it, but none of them feel right?  I have no idea what’s up.”

“Well, hey, girl, let’s try to play it out and see what’s up!”  Destiny grinned at June. 

“We could try?  It’s this.”  June played the simple beat on her guitar.

Destiny gave her an incredulous look.  “That’s what’s stuck in your head?”

“Your sister’s a bassist.  Your standards should probably be lower, Miss Freeze.”  Senine said as she tapped away at her phone.

“She’d set you on fire if she heard that kinda talk.”  Destiny warned.

“Yeah!  It’s not a really hard thing or anything and I feel like there’s something I need to play to it.  Everything I try just...isn’t right?”  June sighed.  “Maybe it’s a Penumbra thing?  I’m usually a little nervous trying to try random things on the Penumbra.  It’s literally potentially explosive.  I have seriously hurt opponents by hitting random strings.”

“Well...I hate doing rhythm, but, here.”  She started to play the simple beat.

June let her fingers start to dance on the strings.  She played beautifully, as usual--the guitar was an extension of her arms, and she had a skill that most people spent their entire life trying to achieve.

June put the guitar down and made a frustrated noise.  “Ugh!  That was awful.”

“Oh, totally.”  Senine said.  “You playing like an expert at fifteen is terrible.”

“No.  Ugh!  It wasn’t the right song!”  She made yet another frustrated noise.  “There’s something that goes along with that beat, and I have no idea what it is.”

“Aw, bae.”  Destiny put a hand on June’s leg.  “That sucks.  Can I stop playing rhythm already?”

“Yeah, yeah, might as well.”  June slumped against the back wall.  “I just wish that I knew what it was that I need to play.”

“How long’s it been in your head?”  Destiny asked, strumming a quiet tune.

“Uhhhh...Hmm...”

“Let me guess.”  Senine said, putting down her phone for the first time since they had started talking.  “It’s been ever since you blacked out at the meteor prison?”

“...Yeah!  Yeah I think.  Oh.”

“Yeah.  Thought so.”  Senine turned to her.  “It’s probably a Penumbra thing, then.”

Destiny gave her an incredulous look.  “How the heck did you know that, anyway?”

Senine shrugged.  “Cause it’s a weird thing that has to do with June and guitars.  It probably has something to do with the magic guitar she has slash is.”

“So...it’s trying to tell me something?”  June felt inside of her, and definitely felt the Penumbra trying to resonate with the tune pounding in her head.  “Then why can’t I understand it?”

“I’m not a magic guitar expert, I’m just getting my degree in being a June expert.”  

June smiled.  “I think you have some pretty good credentials in that department.  That’s just my experience as a lay-person, though.”

Destiny looked between the two of them with a very slight frown.  She looked to Senine.  “So, you dating Veracity, yet?”

Senine shrugged.  “I don’t know.  She’s cute and also terrible and I like cute and terrible.  And I also like it when girls are really forward and telling me we’re fated to date is pretty forward.  I don’t know if that means we’re dating, but, I like both kissing and hanging out with her.  I’m in no hurry to make it more than that.”

June plucked at the strings some more.  “Every song I’ve gotten from the Penumbra has just sort of popped into my head.  I guess...something must be blocking this one?  I wish I know what or why.”

“Maybe it’s got something to do with those weird instrument things they got?”  Destiny said.

“Yeah, maybe.”  June frowned.  “Oh, well, let’s just work on tuning, for now!”

“Orrr....”  Came Kismet’s voice as she came up to the three girls and sat down in front of them.  “You guys could tell me how to ask Avril out.”

Senine immediately looked up and narrowed her eyes at Kismet.  “First of all, Flameface, you aren’t in the talent show, and I can’t imagine why, because I know everyone here wants to hear a bass solo.  Second, you don’t ask Avril out, Avril’s off limits.”

“Alright, girl who kissed her and got rejected?  You don’t get to talk.”  Kismet looked to June.  “June, we’re basically in-laws, right?  You gotta tell me what to do.”

“...I’ve been dating Destiny for a couple weeks--”

“Arguably about a year.”

“Still though.”  June frowned.  “Avril’s my friend and my roommate and sort of in a sisterly situation?  Plus, she’s not great with romance and stuff since Lanessa.”

“She let me kiss her and didn’t freak out.”

Senine rolled her eyes.  “You kissed her on the cheek, Ghost Pepper.  And it was a gratitude kiss.”

“Again, when you kissed her she freaked, you don’t get to talk.”

“Kizzy.”  Destiny said.  “I’m with June, you gotta be careful with this.”

“Dezzy, you are literally only siding with June because you like her.”

“Absolutely.”

Kismet made a face and looked back to June.  “C’mon, June, please?  She’s super pretty and cool and I want to know more about her and probably kiss her again.”

“Avril’s super private.”  June sighed.  “I’ve never even been in her room?  She keeps it closed and doesn’t let people in it.  I don’t know anyone who’s seen inside it except...”

“Sup.”  Senine interrupted, grinning.  She did not mention that her eyes were closed for most of that time.

Kismet made a face.  

“...Senine, and Julius, when he does some cleaning, and he’s sworn to secrecy.  And aside from Senine, I probably talk the most to her but she hates talking about herself or things she likes except for girls.”  June considered it for a moment.  “I think, maybe, you could go watch her the next time she trains?  Maybe join her?  She trains pretty regularly, ever since we needed to fight the Savage Stars.”

“Yeah!  Sure!  I can totes spar with her if she wants.  I’d looooove getting all sweaty with her.”

Senine rolled her eyes.  “Jesus, Scarlet Fever, you’re not going to date Avril.  Stop trying, you’re just going to make her uncomfortable.”

“What, you worried she’s gonna stop paying attention to you?”

She glared at the bassist.  “Careful, Hothead.  If you hurt her, you’re answering to me.”

“Oh, I’m shaking.”  Kismet stood and brushed herself off.  “Anyway, later!  I’m off to plan my next move.”

As she left, Destiny looked over at Senine.  “Please don’t kill my twin.”

“No promises, Frosty.”

 

*****

 

School had been over for a couple hours, and Kara had her head resting on a notebook, groaning.  “Jan, this is torture.  My eyes hurt.  My brain hurts.  I hate your stupid shorthand.”

It was just her, Janice, and Avril in the school library, now.  Avril was shaking out the cramps in her hand, while Janice was making even more notes in shorthand in a fresh notebook.

“It’s not that bad.”

“You’re still doing it!”  Kara pointed at the book.  “Jan, why.  We’re just going to get into the same mess again, later!”

Avril stood up and stretched.  “Does anyone want anything from the vending machine?”

“We aren’t supposed to have food and drink in the--”

“Give me lots of caffeine and chocolate.”  Kara rooted around in her purse and handed over several dollar bills.

“But--”

Avril nodded and headed out of the room.

Janice frowned.  “Kara, that’s just messed up!”

“Tough.  The sticky thing cherry has been popped in this place a long time ago if my chair’s any indication.  I need caffeine if I’m going to keep reading this awful stuff.”

Janice looked down at the book.  “It’s really that bad?”

Kara immediately felt guilty.  She got up and hugged Janice, starting to hyperventilate just slightly.  “No no no sweetie I’m just playing around I’m sorry don’t hate me It’s important to you I just--”

“Shhh” Janice put an arm around her.  “It’s okay, I don’t hate you.  It’s kind of silly, it just helps me get stuff down fast, you know?”

“Y-yeah.”  Kara took a deep breath.  “Yeah, sorry.  I was just ragging on you and you were sad and I panicked.”

“I know.  You’re good.”

Kara pulled away from Janice and sat back down.  “So, have you found out anything useful, yet?”

“Yes and no?  Things are a bit more clear than they were but I have tons of questions, still.  Nothing about a violin or a harp that I’ve found but those instruments both sounds familiar.  None of these notebooks are in order and most of it’s page numbers.”

“Have you checked with other Stellar Ranger places to see if they have the books?  There has to be other places on Earth with stuff like that.”

“Oh, there were a lot of books.”  Janice sighed.  “But Mr. Vember was the biggest owner of books like that on Earth!  He did a whole lotta studying on the Penumbra, cause his wife was the last person to hold it.  He even borrowed a bunch of books from other places and never gave them back, because they never needed them.  Leah and Ms. K are ordering the stuff that’s left but we lost the biggest library of information on the Penumbra and Despair on Earth.”

“Well...”  Kara frowned.  “There has to be something we can do, right?”

“Yeah...but I don’t know what it is, past what we’re doing already.”

“I know what we’re doing.”  Kismet said as she sat at the table.  “We’re talking about my love life.”

Janice frowned.  “Kizzy, this is serious.  We need to know how strong these guys are.”

“Not as strong as June combined with the rest of us, probably.”  Kismet said.  “Come ooooon, I want ideas for how to seduce Avril.”

“...Jan, I hate to agree with Kizzy, but, I could use a break, and some drama that isn’t my depressed ass freaking out every time someone gets sad might be right what I need.”

Kismet looked at Janice with big, pleading eyes.  Janice sighed.  “Yeah, okay, but not for too long, okay?  This is really important!”

“Yes!  Thank you thank you thank you, I’ll keep it quick, I promise.”

A part of Janice very much doubted that.

 

*****

 

Avril had not known Veracity long, and she had been living in Solar City for an even shorter amount of time.  Even so, when she saw Veracity waiting for her by the vending machines, shuffling through a deck of mundane, braille tarot cards, she was absolutely not surprised, despite having no prior indication she would be here.

“Veracity.”  Avril said as she started to work the machine.  “I would’ve thought you’d be harassing Senine while she was preparing for her act.”

Veracity shrugged.  She pulled a card, ran her fingers along the braille, and said, “I’m giving her some space.  By the way, don’t be too hard on her.”

“...On Senine?  Why would I be hard on Senine?”  Avril turned to her as she fought with a dollar bill that had been a tip from a diner patron that, apparently, kept all of his dollars in a crumpled ball.

“Not Senine.  Kismet.”  Veracity slipped the card back into the deck.  “She’s going to be asking you out, naturally.”

Avril paused what she was doing for just a moment before putting the money into the candy machine and making some selections.  “I see.”

“That’s not just my powers, by the way.  She’s trying to seem confident because that’s the default state for the March sisters, but she’s the fire twin, even though she’s sure of herself on the surface, she’s a raging ball of insecurity underneath.  You saving her sister’s life’s really, really made her curious about you.”

“I’ll let her down easy.”  Avril gathered up some chocolate and put it in her backpack, before moving to the soda machine.

“So you aren’t ready, yet.”

“That’s none of your business.”

Veracity pulled a card from the deck and ran her hand over the braille. It was The Hermit.  “None of your life seems to be anyone’s business.”

“I like being private.”

“You know they’re not going to reject you for whatever they find.”

Avril sighed.  “You aren’t Ms. Clack, I don’t really have anything I need to say to you about this.”

“Am I your friend, Avril?”

Avril nodded as she loaded her backpack with soda as well.  “Yes, you are.”

“If I, or none of these girls qualify, for talking about this, who does?  Just some praying mantis lady?”

“I talk to June, occasionally.”  Avril said in a defensive tone.  

“But you don’t even let her in your room.”

“It’s private.”

Veracity shuffled her deck.  “I suppose.  The original point stands, just be easy on her, if you aren’t ready.  She’s more volatile than she acts and she may feel a rather strong hit to her confidence if you reject her too harshly.”

“Noted.”  Avril said.  She shouldered her pack.  “Are there any other lectures you want to give?”

“I could tell you about how a short skirt would look great on you.”

“I’ll pass.”  Avril started out of the basement, and Veracity followed.

“Suite yourself.”  Veracity said, and then added, “You know we all know you’re gay, correct?  Hiding your room can’t keep that cat out of the bag.”

“I’m aware.”

“I wonder what you could possibly be hiding.”

Avril did not respond as they made their way back to the library.

When they entered it, Avril paused, and was keenly aware of two things.

One, that Kismet was indeed here.

Two, so were Vanra and Zanra.

“Hello!”  Zanra said as Avril stepped between them and Veracity.

“We’re here...”  Vanra began.

“For a game.”  They said as one.

 

*****

 

“Okay, Amber!”  Faye said with a big grin, in the infirmary in Stellar Ranger HQ.  “Do you think you can walk?”

Amber frowned.  She was sitting on the edge of her bed in the infirmary.  “Like, duh?  Of course I can, like, walk?”

Auggie sighed.  “This is the biggest reason that’s probably a lie.  You keep talking about walking but you haven’t taken a step yet!  Just lay back down, we can handle stuff!  I’ll get a wheelchair.”

Amber made a face.  “Like, I’m not letting you help me pee?”

“You’re hurt!  You need help getting there.”  Auggie made an exasperated noise.

“It’s okay, Amber!  We can try it slowly!  No one’s judging you!  If you think you can walk, you can lean on me!  One step at a time.”  Faye offered a hand to her.

Amber slid slowly off the bed and leaned against Faye.  She was greatly favoring her leg.  “Like...could you let me, like, go?”

“Are you sure?  You’re leaning pretty hard!”

Amber nodded.  “Yeah, like, duh, I--”

Faye let go, and Amber immediately cried out in pain and flailed to grab her.  Faye caught her and helped her get her balance, again.

“You’re just gonna get yourself hurt!”  Auggie frowned.  “And then Cassie’s gonna need to come and heal you because you decided to be too hella stubborn!”

Amber did not let go of Faye.  “Like, whatever.  You guys should, like, go to the talent show?  I’m going to, like, be here until I heal, anyway.”

“Nope!”  Faye hugged Amber, now, gently helping her move towards the door.  “You’re my best friend, and I’m going to take care of you!  Now, let’s help you pee!”

“And I care about you, dummy.”  Auggie gave her a fond smile.  “Yeah, I like Cassie and Gemini’s voices.  But you’re hurt and you’ll be sad and lonely and constantly bitching about it in a way that makes you seem less sad and lonely if we go.  So I’m here!  With my girl.”

Amber was blushing brightly.  “I, like, you, like.  That’s, like.  Gay?”

“You’re my girlfriend, I’m allowed to be gay at you.”

Faye was giving them a wide-eyed smile.  “You guys!  You’re so cute together!  This is great!”

Faye was so excited that she let go of Amber to do a little excited hop.  This caused Amber to fall over.

“Oops.  Sorry, Amber!”

 

*****

 

Avril had her sword out almost instantly.  She stepped forward and held it low.  “You’re those twins June told us about!”

“In the flesh!”  Vanra said.

“Well..Something like flesh, anyway!”  Zanra corrected.

“It’s close enough!”

“Oh, certainly!  I didn’t mean to contradict you, Vanra!  I’m so sorry, can you ever forgive a dumb, worthless child who is still better than all of these even more profoundly useless humans?”

Vanra held her sister in a tight hug.  “Of course I can, dearest, perfect Zanra.”

Kara stood in front of her friends, staff out.  Kismet flanked her by instinct, summoning her axes.  Janice did not summon her weapon, because she was not about to summon a molten mace in a library.

“What do you two want?”  Kara demanded.

Vanra and Zanra looked at each other, confused.

“Sister....”  Zanra pouted.  “I don’t remember, I was overwhelmed with love for you!”

“Me too!”  Vanra frowned.  “We were going to do something, weren’t we?”

Zanra’s eyes widened, and started to water.  “Vanra!!!  I don’t remember!!!  This is awful, I’m so embarrassed!”

“Don’t worry, beloved sister!”  Vanra hugged her tightly.  “We will remember the game soon!”

Zanra’s face immediately brightened.  She hugged her sister back.  “Vanra, it was a game!  We were going to play a game!”

“We were!”  Vanra also brightened and turned towards the Stellar Rangers.  “Yes, we are going to play a game!”

“Are they...”  Kara looked over to Kismet and Janice.  “..always like this?”

“Ooooh yeah.”  Kismet said.

“Don’t underestimate it, though.”  Janice was ready, but not willing, to set fire to a library.  “They can get real nasty.”

“That’s rude!”  Zanra gave a pout. 

“It’s very rude, but it’s accurate.”  Vanra shrugged.

“True!  If they don’t play our game...”

“...Things will get very very nasty.”  They said as one.

“The rules are this!  We are going to release monsters on the Talent Festival, each one released off school grounds, on a set schedule, and told to come here.”  Vanra began.

“They can only go for doors!  No windows!”

“Right, sister!”

“They will be told to assault directly.”  Zanra said, grinning.  “All throughout the festival!”

“And if they get in, they’re instructed to hurt as many people as possible!”

“But don’t worry, we would never interrupt the festival itself!”

Vanra nodded.  “Never!  That’s why we must insist you not tell any of your friends in the concert about it!  If they find out...”

“...well...”

They said as one, “We will rampage directly.”

“You can only get so wet!”  Vanra grinned.  “Just the five of you can play!  There are three entrances you have to guard!”

“If you don’t accept--”

“--We rampage anyway.”

“So!”  Zanra said with an expectant grin.  “Do you want to play with us?  Oh, please say yes!  We love games.”

“Yes!  Please say yes!  You’ll break Zanra’s metaphorical heart if you say no.”

“Also, we’ll kill people.”  They said as one.

Avril started to say something, but Kara interrupted her.  “Okay, what do we get if we win?”

Zanra gave her a proud smile.  “The satisfaction of a job well done!”

“We’re in.”  Kara said.  “Does it start when the Talent Show Starts?”

“Officially.”  Vanra said.  “Yes.”

“But the first monster might not be unleashed then!”  Zanra added.

“Yes, you don’t get to know the schedule!  The game ends when the last person finishes!”

“Good luck!”  Vanra and Zanra said as one, and then began to cackle as they teleported away.

“Why would you agree to that?!”  Avril snarled, stomping up to Kara as she put her sword away.  “We should have just canceled the show and--”

“And let them rampage?  Nope.”  Kara looked past Avril, to Veracity.  “V, how should we split up?”

Veracity had her large tarot cards in hand and pulled three from the deck.  “I’ll be at the exterior entrance.  I should be able to handle it on my own.  Kara and Avril, you should be at the eastern doors.  Janice and Kismet, you take the western doors.  Also...be ready, they fully intend to attack, themselves, as the last monsters.”

“If we canceled, we could get everyone to attack them.”  Avril insisted.  “What if we can’t stop all of them?”

“We will.”  Kara said, turning to the others.  “Did you guys all hear that?”

Kismet pouted.  “Why can’t I be with Avril!”

“Because.”  Veracity shuffled her deck.  “You’ll be too focused on showing off for her and make a mistake.  It results in you losing an arm and Avril getting seriously wounded.  The talent show needs to be disrupted to get a healer, and--”

“Yeah, sure, I get it.”  Kismet grumbled.

Avril was deeply relieved to not be on Kismet’s team.  She also felt a bit guilty and ashamed that she felt that way.  Kismet was fine, she supposed.  She was pretty and vibrant.  However, when Avril thought about holding her hand, it was not Kismet under the skin.  Avril shuddered when she thought about that.

“Everyone know what to do?”

“So, question.”  Janice said.  “Are we just gonna wreck the school?  Because we should probably try to damage it as little as possible.”

Kismet sighed.  “Jan, can’t I have ANY fun with this?  I can’t even wreck the school!”

“Jan’s right.”  Kara leaned on her staff.  “We should be careful not to screw stuff up too much.  V, how does that pan out?”

Veracity pulled another card.  “It goes moderately well.  There will be, by necessity, some damage.  I can’t see it too clearly.”

“Alright.  We need to get into position.”  Kara took out her phone.  “I’m going to let June know what’s going on and tell her the show has to go on.  Otherwise, Destiny’s going to get suspicious when we aren’t there to watch her because she loooves being watched.”  She looked to her teammates, former teammate, and Avril.  “Let’s save the Talent Show.”


	7. Episode 7:  Talent, Pt. 2

June frowned at her phone and put it in her pocket.  She was sitting on the edge of the stage with Destiny and Senine.  Behind them, Cassie and Gemini were standing back-to-back.  They were dressed in glittery dresses--Gemini’s was violet, and Cassie’s was green.  They had about half an hour before people would start being allowed into Solar City High’s auditorium.

“Alright, and then we half turn and--”  Cassie began, and started to turn, and tripped over Gemini’s leg.

“Not so quickly!”  Gemini said with a frown.  “The song isn’t that fast.  We can take it easier.”

“But this way we fully turn rather than a half turn.”

“We agreed on a half turn.”

Cassie put her hands on her hips.  “We agreed on a full turn.”

“You guys really should’ve practiced earlier.”  Destiny said. 

“We didn’t want to be in front of people, duh.”  Gemini replied.

“So now you’re going to perform in front of people with no leadup?”  Destiny raised an eyebrow.  “That’s...probably worse.  But hey, your funeral!”

Cassie and Gemini both glared at her, and then went back to practicing.

“What’s wrong?”  Senine asked June.

“Well...Okay.  According to Kara, none of the others are coming.”  June put her phone away.  “There’s a Stellar Ranger thing they need to do, and she said that it was really important that they both not show up, and also, that we keep going as planned.  She also says that even if we hear or see bad stuff around here, we keep going, and that she can’t tell us specifically what’s wrong, and that we should just trust that they have it in mind.”

Destiny groaned.  “Aw, that sucks!  First Faye’s not gonna be here, now this?  It’d better be real damn important.”

“She also said that Kismet says it’s really damn important.”  June said.  “I guess we just do what we were going to do?  I don’t like not helping.”

Senine made a snorting noise and stood up.  “Great.  The one person I wanted to see this stupid performance isn’t going to show, on top of the fact that the person who made me do this in the first place not showing up.”

“Julius and Leah are both going to be taping us.”  June said, hopping up to go over to Senine and put a hand on her arm.  “Avril’ll still be able to watch it.”

Senine did something June had never seen her do and blushed.  “Well.  I didn’t say it was Avril.”  She gave a resigned sigh.  “But I guess it’s pretty obvious.  I’m going to have to really make it seem grudging when Julius shows it to her later.  Can’t make it too obvious.”

“Y’know.”  Destiny said, standing to join June.  “If this wasn’t about the girl Kismet liked, she would be all over this quality teen drama.”

“Yeah, yeah.  Look, Avril’s become one of my best friends.  And she’s extremely fucking cute.  Just, she has a high quality preppy butch aesthetic that really, really does it for me.”  Senine had a slight smile as she talked about her.  “And she’s really considerate and she’s great.  Ugh.  I feel like I need to take a shower after that.  Anyway, I want her to see my performance because there might not be another one.  I’m not kidding when I say I definitely do not want to do this for reasons beyond what doing ballet is going to do to my cred.”

On the stage, Gemini fell over Cassie.  “TWO steps left, Cassiopeia!”

“Do not even Cassiopeia me, Gemini!  One and a half steps!  Never round up in dance!”

“I was not rounding!  We decided it looked better with two!”

“Plus.”  Senine said, looking over at the arguing twins.  “They’re going to miss those two literally killing each other on stage.  When do we all go, anyway?”

“Uhhh.”  June scrounged around in her bag until she found a program.  “It looks like...Destiny and I are first.  You’re kind of towards the middle, and, oh, huh.  Gemini and Cassie are the grand finale.”

There was a stumbling noise behind them, and the Schumacher twins rushed over to the others.  “WHAT?!”  They said in sync. 

“We CANNOT be the Grand Finale!”  Cassie said, grabbing the program from her.  “That...that is simple too much pressure.”

“We are doomed!”  Gemini said, paling.  “We cannot be the finale.  We need to....”

“You two need to own it!”  Destiny said.  “Play it up!  Go big or go home!”

“The more sensible March is right.”  Senine said.  “You guys are getting nervous and, honestly, you just need to do what I do, which is completely disregard anyone’s opinions of you.”

“That...”  Cassie frowned.  “You do not understand.  After Bethany...Everyone is more aware of our situation than before.  We get more looks than before.  The girls in the locker room cover up more when we are around.  They probably do not even know they are doing it, but, even if they do not mean any harm by it...we feel harm nonetheless.”

“It sucks.”  Gemini looked over to June.  “Thank you again for hitting her.”

“It’s no problem, really.  It felt good to do.”

“So knock their teeth in.”  Senine gave them a wicked grin.  “Give them the best fucking show they have ever seen.  I don’t want to do the ballet, but, I am going to show them the greatest ballet they’ve ever seen, because if I crashed and burned because I wasn’t feeling it?  It would be even worse!  So you have to stuff how hot and good at singing you are, right down their throats.  And you two can do it, too.”

Destiny, right at this moment, knew exactly why June had a crush on Senine.  “Yeah!  Tall, pale, and gloomy is right.  You go get it, girls.”

“...Uh.”  June looked to the other two, and said, “Just, assume I made a leaderly speech that was as good as what those two did.”

“Well, I’m still the main leader.  You’re a full ranger, June, that means I’m the big boss, again.  You can maybe be second in command, but you have to talk to Octy about it.”  Senine grinned and nudged her.

“You know, I never agreed with the leader thing, right?”  June was also grinning.

“You’re going to miss it.”

Destiny tugged June by the arm.  “Come on, babe, we need to get the rest of our song down.”

“Oh.  Ooof.  Okay!”  

 

*****

 

KIsmet grumbled as she paced by the western doors of the auditorium.  “I can’t believe Kara’s over there while I’m over here!”

People were starting to file into the auditorium, both parents and students alike.  There was a lot of excited talk about the fact that a Shining Star of all people was going to be in it.  Others were talking in hushed whispers about the Senine was going to be performing.  Still others were talking about Cassie and Gemini’s upcoming performance, using the sort of careful, hushed tones one usually reserved for a sensitive topic one was confused and sensitive about.

“Oh my God, Kizzy, are you for real?”  Janice said.  “THIS is what you’re focusing on, not the awful murdertwins who have a piece of the most powerful weapon in the universe.”

“Will you relax about that?  This place has made you a real downer, Jan.”  Kismet said, turning to face Janice, who was sitting on one of the benches outside the auditorium, watching the people filter in.  “There’s so goddamn many of us.  If you guys could beat that Lanessa person, we can team up and beat these two.”

“Kizzy, she almost killed us all.  Several times.  Constantly.  The last battle with her was just getting out of frying pans and jumping into fires for a really long time.  We didn’t even know who she was until her plan was almost finished!  I don’t want that to happen, this time.  I want to know everything about Vanra and Zanra and their instruments.”

“It couldn’t’ve been that bad!  You had the Penumbra.”

“No, Kizzy, we didn’t!  She did.  She stole it from Junie and drained a whoooole lot of power from it.  Didn’t you even listen when we told you this stuff?”

Kizzy shook her head.  “No!  ‘Cause it was over and didn’t have anything to do with the stuff we were dealing with!  And you managed to beat her even when she had it!”

“Stop just thinking about Avril!”  Janice stood up.  “You barely cared about any of this until you decided to date Avril.  This is exactly why I left the band!  You and Dezzy are great unless you want something, and then you’re the worst people ever!”

Kismet looked at her with a hurt expression.  Her eyes were wide, and her mouth slightly parted in shock.  “You left...because of Dezzy and me?”

Janice put a hand over her mouth.  “No, no Kizzy, that was just me being angry!  It was a lot of things and--”

“Holy....”  Kismet chuckled and stepped back.  “Y’know?  We told Kara she was overreacting when she was completely devastated that you left.  We told her, ‘Hey, K-May, she just needs a change of scenery, she’s not trying to get rid of us.’  But, wow, Jan.  You really did, didn’t you?  I thought we were your friends.”

“We are, I just...I got frustrated!   I don’t know.  I want to be your friend--”

“But I’m too shallow?  I’m too selfish?”  Kismet crossed her arms over her chest.

“...I just wish you and Destiny cared when I talked.  I wish you cared about the things I care about.  Like figuring this out and helping save our friends.”  Janice sighed.  “Maybe if I had found out about Lanessa earlier, then maybe Avril wouldn’t have dated her.  Maybe a lot of bad things coulda been avoided.  Like all the Savage Stars dying, or Prince Decembren’s vizier woulda survived.  But I was too late to stop anything.  And I don’t want them to succeed, but...Kara spent most of her time bitching about my shorthand but at least she cared?  Destiny spends all her time with June and Faye because they’re what she wants.  And you’re just focused on Avril and...it doesn’t feel like you want to be friends?  It feels like you want to use me to get closer to Avril.”

Kismet stared at Janice, and then looked down at the floor.  “Wow.  That’s.  You know I don’t like drama involving me, Jan.”

Janice hugged Kismet.  “I’m sorry, Kizzy.  I shouldn’t’ve said anything, I’m just...really stressed out by this.  I don’t want to fail these guys again, you know?  I’m really sorry.  You’re a good friend, you’re just excited about Avril.”

“...She saved Dezzy’s life, Jan.”  Kismet hugged back.  “Don’t tell anyone I was crying.”

“Okay, as long as you don’t tell Dezzy I made you cry.  And hey.”  Janice pulled away from the hug.  “There’s other ways to be appreciative, you know.”

“Yeah, but...I want to be with her.”

“She might not be ready.  Lanessa screwed her up really well.  She did everyone--she’s been in everyone but me and June’s heads.  You need to tell her what you want, and not be sad or push if she says no but like...be her friend?  Be there for her?  If you’re in it just to date her then that’s gonna get her shying away from you entirely, ‘cause Avril’s really flighty when dealing with other people.  In a fight, forget it, she’ll charge right in and cross swords with the devil if it means getting us out of danger, but when dealing with others?  She’ll run if you push, and then Senine will literally rip you inside out.”

“I can take her.  I’m tough, remember?”

Janice laughed.  “That’s true.  Hey, when’s the last time you nearly killed yourself in order to take out a bad guy, and then played it off like it was no big thing?”

“...Senine did that?”

“Senine did that.”

“Well, fuck.”

 

*****

 

Avril made an exasperated noise.  “Can you explain why you’re hiding behind me?”  She said as she glanced over her shoulder.

Avril was standing in front of where Kara was sitting, blocking her from the mass of people entering the school to go to the talent show via the eastern entrance.

“Because, ugh.  I’m way too popular and I don’t want to detract from everyone else’s night.  Being famous is cool until a dozen people surround you with demands and if you say no you might directly hurt your career.”  Kara pulled her knees to her chest on the bench. 

“But you get to be rich.”

“Well, I’m under eighteen, so, technically, my parents get to be rich.  And I’ll be pretty well off when I turn eighteen.  Most of my money is managed by Ms. Kerberus who lets my parents have a big cut of it just to get them to shut up and leave me alone.”

“You...don’t get along with your parents?”

Kara shook her head.  “Not historically, no.  I love my parents.  And they love me!  But I am super, super glad not to live with them and to have this whole idol thing to keep them mollified.  I don’t need to be good at math, anymore!  It’s so refreshing to not have the whole ‘they’ll send me back to wherever they got me if I’m not a good student’ anxiety-fear-thing hanging over my head, anymore.”

“...You’re adopted?”

“How else do you think a Korean girl gets the name Kara May?”

“My parents let me keep mine.”  Avril looked down.  “It’s all I have of my birth parents.”

“You’re adopted?”

“Yes.  And unadopted, now.  My foster parents don’t want anything to do with me.  Julius has been cementing legally adopting me, but a lot of the groundwork was undone when Mr. Vember’s magic was undone.”

“So....what happened?”

Avril sat down, and Kara leaned against her.  “My parents were immigrants.  They were deported, but...they had proof I was born here, and they wanted me to stay, even if they had to leave.”

“...Ouch.  That sucks.  I don’t even know what happened to mine, I’m just another girl shipped from overseas for a childless white family.”  Kara sighed.  “I really do love them but if I ever have to spend more than a couple days with them, again, I’ll probably explode in a rainbow of anxiety.”

“I...loved my parents.  I thought they loved me, too.”  Avril shrugged.  “But I guess not.”

“Right.  I heard about that.”  Kara looked down at her knees.  “My parents don’t know.  I mean, they might guess?  I’m covered in rainbows it’s pretty obvious I’m not straight but...they have so many expectations for me, you know?  They’re so proud of my success but like...not surprised?  Like ‘yes, of course, the inexplicably popular idol pop group you’re in will be very lucrative, of course!  You’re Kara you’re expected to be amazing at everything.’”

“I can’t recommend telling them.”  Avril said.  “It didn’t go well for me.”

“Yeah, not everyone’s Auggie Levey and lives with her girlfriend at age fifteen with her dad being super supportive of it.”  Kara grumbled.  “I wish I was, though.”

Avril’s ears perked when she heard Bethany loudly whisper, “That’s her.”  Avril looked up, and saw Bethany and who she assumed were her parents, as well as Valerie and her parents.  The parents were giving Avril a disapproving look.

“I guess that’s my daily homophobia.”  Avril sighed, and pretended she did not notice.

“Oh?  Who’s doing it.”  Kara peeked around Avril, and saw Bethany, who went pale.  Kara smiled, pointed to her eyes, and then pointed to Bethany.  Bethany hurried her parents along and scurried inside, leaving a confused Valerie in their wake.

“...Did you get Bethany afraid of you?”

“”Of course!  Why wouldn’t I have?  A punch is nice but it has consequences for both parties.  I just said I would ruin Bethany, socially, if she acted badly.  I guess a couple small rumors need to be started, on Monday.  Just to make sure she knows I mean business.”

Avril got a hint of a smile.  “You’re terrifying.”

“Thanks!  It’s what I do.”

 

*****

 

The auditorium was the most full June had ever seen it.  She was not a regular attendee of school performances, but even she knew that they did not usually get past half full.  Right now, the spacious area looked almost completely at capacity.

She sat on the stage in a chair, next to Destiny.  There were electric guitars in both of their hands, and Destiny was smiling at June.

“On three?”  June asked.

Destiny nodded.  “Sure thing.  Count us off, babe.”

“Okay.  One.  Two.”

And on three, they both began to play a slow but intricate song, where each part played off the other’s part in a near perfect harmony.

 

*****

 

Gemini paced back and forth, backstage.  “It’s started!  It has started and...and...my makeup is not even done!”

Octavian was kneeling in front of Cassie, who was sitting on the ground.  He was carefully putting her makeup on with a delicate, precise hand.  “You’ll get your turn, Gemma.  My beloved called dibs on being first.”

“Get me next.”  Senine said, standing near Cassie and the others.  She was dressed in tights and a leotard, both black, along with a pair of white pointe shoes. 

“Of course!  Anything for my very best friend.”

Gemini’s eyes opened wide.  “But...but!”

“Calm down, Living Death Girl.  I go on before you do.  You’ll get your turn, there’s literally no one else he’s doing the makeup of.”  Senine said, sitting next to Cassie.  “Just, use everything you have left on me, okay, Octy?”

“GAH!”

 

*****

 

Kismet leaned against the wall.  She, along with Janice, were both wearing their Stellar Ranger badges, now.  “How long do you think they’re gonna make us wait, anyway?”

“Probably about long enough that we drop our guards.”  Janice could hear what was unmistakably Destiny and June, through the walls of the auditorium.  “We need to DUCK.”

Kismet’s eyes went wide and she ducked her head just in time to avoid a spiked ball that suddenly jerked back to its source.  A large, bipedal monster stood in front of them, hulking and grinning a twisted mouth of sharp teeth.  Its eyes glowed bright white, like burning magnesium, and its whole body was covered in thick, armored plates.  Its right arm ended in a spiked ball, attached to a line made of ligament and tissue.

 

*****

At the other end of the hall, Avril summoned her sword and started to move down it as soon as she saw the monster there.  Kara put an arm on her shoulder.

“Stay here.”  She said.  “That’s their side and this is ours.  We don’t leave our spot and we don’t interfere with their job.  Just focus on ours.”

“But they have a monster and we don’t.”  Avril pulled away.

“Yeah, and if a monster attacks while you’re down there and I’m alone here?”

Avril frowned, and stepped back, closer to their entrance.

“Exactly.  Don’t worry, I have faith in both of them.”

*****

 

Kismet summoned her burning axes, and Janice summoned her volcanic mace.  The armor-plated monster hissed, and belched out a cloud of super-heated, white-hot flame, as bright as a flare.

The two Stellar Rangers stood their ground, however, and when the flames cleared, Kismet charged through, unscathed, and buried both her axes in the armor plating on the creature’s chest.  It let out a surprised shriek, and flailed out with its spiked ball.  Kismet backed away, and Janice rushed forward, slamming the monster in the chest with her mace, hard enough that cracks ran all through its armor plating.

The monster lifted its flail-arm and twirled it around overhead, before smashing it down towards Janice, leaving a white-hot trail of brilliant flame in its wake.  Janice dodged back from it and smashed her foot down, causing a seismic shockwave that made the thing steady itself on its trunk-like legs.

Kismet grinned and darted forward.  She lashed out with her axes and severed the line the spiked ball was attached to.  “The one who downs it wins!”  She called, twirling to bring her axes around at its neck before Janice could even respond.

However, before they could make contact, a beam of rainbow light surged through the monster’s head, and it burst into a swirling maelstrom of blood that evaporated into the air.

Kismet turned and glared down the hallway.  On the other end of it, she could see Kara waving at her.

“Ugh!  I hate it when she does that!”

 

*****

 

Avril gave Kara an unimpressed look.  “You said we wouldn’t interfere in their guarding and pay attention to our own.”

Kara shrugged. “Yeah, but that was before I got the chance to kill-steal.”  She rested her staff against her shoulder. 

“You shouldn’t say it like that.”  Avril frowned.  “They used to be people.”

“Yes, they did.  But mercy right now isn’t going to save anyone in the auditorium.”  Kara looked in the other direction, towards the hall that lead further into the school, rather than the one that went towards the other auditorium entrance.  A quadrupedal monster bounded towards them from there.  It had thick, leathery skin and a long, wide mouth.  There was a glowing, pink nodule protruding from its back.  As it bounded, its claws scraped the linoleum underneath.  She brought up her staff, which began to glow with all of the colors of the rainbow.  “And sympathy is just going to make us slower to act and that might cost lives.”

Avril hesitated for only a moment, and then lifted her sword.

The node on the back of the monster lit up, and Avril found the sword pulled out of her hands.  Before it could reach the monster, the node lit up blue, and flung the sword away, into a nearby locker.

Kara lifted her hand and blasted it in the eyes with a light beam.  “Magnets, that’s new.”

The monster screamed and turned its node blue again, but Kara’s crystalline staff was not attracted to it.  It scrambled forward and made a blind leap at her, claws outstretched, when the nearby water fountain exploded and smashed into its side.  The beast was knocked out of the way, allowing Kara to blast it again, this time in the magnetic node, with a cutting laser. It sliced through part of the node, causing the beast to cry out again, and the magnetism to flicker on and off.

Avril lifted her hands, and smashed it down again.  As she did, a second monster rushed at her.  This one was also a quadruped. It was covered in smalls holes that made Avril realize she had minor trypophobia, which was not helped when bees started to crawl out of its porous skin.

 

*****

 

On the other end of the hall, Janice and Kismet hopped out of the way as a blade of slicing wind shot out at them and cut their drinking fountain in half.  The source was a large, mothlike creature, clinging to the walls and beating its wings.  It let out a horrible hissing noise from its overly complicated mandibles and launched another cutting wave of wind at them.

Janice jumped to the side and slammed into the wall, which caused it to shake enough that the moth-thing fell off of it and onto its back.  Meanwhile, Kismet gathered a ball of fire in her hands and threw it at the downed monster.

It burst into flame, but before they could press the attack, a bolt of lightning smashed into Janice, knocking her away.  A creature hovered before them that looked something like a giant hummingbird, only with three beaks and compound eyes.

Kismet stood in front of Janice and lifted her axes.  The hummingbird-thing’s beaks began to crackle as the moth monster pushed itself to its legs.

“You okay, Jan?”

“Y-yeah.”  Janice said, pushing herself to her feet.  “I’m used to Auggie doing that to me during training.  Plus, I’m more grounded than most.”

Kismet could hear June and Destiny winding down.  “I hope those jerks appreciate this.”

The hummingbird monster fired another lightning bolt at them, just as the moth beast started to flutter its wings again.

 

*****

 

The crowd went wild as June and Destiny finished their song.  June felt honestly stunned to see all of these people, people who she largely did not interact with, applaud her and mostly Destiny.

Destiny was not stunned, and she stood up, pulling June with her, and waved to the crowd, which caused them to go even more wild.  June could not help but to smile and wave, too, and after a while, they went off stage, guitars in tow, as a group of teens in dark clothes set about re-arranging the stage for the next performance.

“You know what I love?”  Destiny said as she led June back to where the Schumacher twins, Octy, and Senine were.

“What?”  June asked, turning to Destiny.

“That you’re as good as me.”  She grinned.  “Seriously, that’s why I wanted to date you at first.”

“‘At first’?  There’s more reasons?”

“Absolutely!  For one, Faye comes with you and she is great.”

June gave her a wry look.  “I’ll let that pass because Faye is pretty great.”

“It is a good thing Auggie is not here.”  Cassie said, looking up from her freakout with Gemini.  “Because she would be very much gloating right now at hearing you say that.”

“Yeah, ye--”  June began, and then stiffened.  “Was that..thunder?”

“Ignore it.”  Senine said.  “That’s the outside crew.  We have to keep things going smoothly in here, remember?”

“But...”  June frowned.  “I’m all finished.  They could use the help, right?”

“Ignore it.”  Senine repeated.  “We can’t take the chance that Vanra and Zanra play fair, whatever their game is.  We stay in here for now.”

“...Alright.”  June sat down on the floor.  “But if something breaks through, I’m going to Penumbra it.”

“If it lasts long enough.”  Senine said.  “I’m doing ballet, I have way too much rage right now.”

Destiny sat next to her and put her arm around her.  “It’s okay, June.  Kismet’s my twin, she’s basically unstoppable.”

 

*****

 

Kismet twirled around a blade of air and slashed off all of the hummingbird monster’s beaks in one strike.  The moth began to flutter again, and a pillar of molten rock smashed up into it, snapping its neck and causing it to burst in another whirlwind of blood that quickly evaporated.  The hummingbird’s whole body began to crackle and glow and convulse at all angles.

Janice grabbed Kismet and pulled her back, stomping her foot to bring up a wall of molten rock to block it.  Before Kismet could ask what the deal was, the hummingbird exploded in a crack of thunder and a blast of lightning.

Janice lowered the shield.  “Great, some of them are unstable.”

Kismet gave her an unimpressed look.  “Lemme guess, that means they explode?”

“Ooooh yeah.”

“Hell.”

 

*****

 

Avril surrounded the hive-monster with a sphere of water.  Its hive began to drown within, and it floundered as it tried to get free.  The magnet monster’s node flashed, and a few locker doors were ripped off their hinges and pulled towards it, but then stopped suddenly as the damage to it prevented a full charge.

Kara stepped forward and blasted it with a cohesive beam of light.  The magnet monster exploded in blood that immediately evaporated.  The hive monster struggled, but Avril summoned her cutlass, dropped the sphere of water, and then jetted forward, cutting it in half.  It, too, burst and evaporated.

“Ugh, these are by far the grossest monsters I’ve ever fought.”  Kara made a face.  “Why do they always have to explode into blood?”

“The blood magic used for them, I would assume.”  Avril raised her sword towards the dark shadows in the hall.  “We aren’t done yet.  How’re you for energy?”

“I’m alright, for now.”  Kara twirled her staff behind her.  “We’ll have to pace ourselves.”

 

Janice and Kismet were back to back as three more beasts advanced on them.

“Remember,”  Kismet began, “whoever gets the fewest buys dinner after this.”

“Kizzy, I never agreed to that.”

“You didn’t not agree!”  Kismet grinned, and re-summoned her axes.  “Now, let’s get to it!”

 

Veracity fanned her cards in front of her as three monsters exploded before her.  She stood in front of the exterior entrance to the building.

Another pounced, but she was already dodging before the attack came, throwing her cards into it and causing it to recoil in pain as they sliced deeply into its hide.  She summoned another fan and tossed it at the exact location it would dodge to, causing it to stumble back and explode into yet another cloud of blood.

“There is a small break.”  She muttered to herself.  “I run out of energy right as I kill the last one.  Cassie will be able to heal my injuries.  I will just barely be able to recover with no ill effects.”

She drew a card from the deck, glanced at it, and slipped it into throwing position.  The Seven of Swords was not the best omen, but she supposed there were worse in the suit.

 

*****

 

Senine sighed as she stepped onto the stage.  A large video screen had been rolled up on the stage, and on it was the frozen image of Senine sitting at a grand piano.

Senine got into position on the center of the stage.  She closed her eyes and made a gesture to Lydia, who was on the stage crew.

The screen unfroze, and right as the Senine on it began to play, the one in real life began to dance.

She played beautifully.  Every keystroke was exact, and every pedal movement was perfect.

Her dancing was even better.  It was fluid and perfectly in time with the music.

However, while both the piano and ballet were perfect in form, there was no soul behind them.  Senine was going through the motions of both.  There was no happiness in this, not like June and Destiny’s playing.  It took everything she could muster just to continue her act and not give up and go back to quietly hating herself.

She did a perfect leap, and when she landed, she did a perfect twirl en pointe, and all she felt was a satisfaction, not in her performance, but that she was one step closer to being done.

The song ended, and Senine bowed to a standing ovation.  She walked backstage and turned to Cassie and Gemini.  “Remember, knock them dead.  Have fun.  You know, unlike I just had.”

“Senine, that was...you were amazing!”  June said, “I didn’t...”

“June, look.”  Senine walked up to her.  “You’re a really good friend, and I don’t want to have to destroy you.  But if you don’t stop talking about what I just did, I am going to have to destroy you.”

“...Noted.”

“Good.  Now.”  She started towards the ‘dressing room’ which was a curtain put up for privacy.  “I’m going to get myself out of this before I set myself on fire to get it off.”

 

*****

 

Janice slumped against the wall, breathing hard.  Kismet joined her and leaned against her.

“That’s...seven me and five you?”  Kismet said.

Janice just gave a breathless nod.

“I just need a moment, and then we can get back to kicking monster ass.”

Janice nodded again.  “Y-yeah, same.”

 

Kara rested her weight on her staff, but she stayed attentive.  “Avril, are you good?”

Avril was in a loose stance, a sword in each hand.  “I’m good.  Nearly out of energy, but good.”

“They probably aren’t done with us, yet, so stay ready.”

 

On both ends of the hall, giggling began to echo.

 

Zanra popped into existence with a flash of darkness, right in front of Janice and Kismet.  “You did so very well!  Even better than I ever thought the game would go!”

 

Vanra appeared in a flash of light behind Kara and Avril.  “We went easy on you, and you have prevailed!”

 

Kismet’s axes flared to life, and Janice stepped next to her, mace glowing with volcanic heat.

“But, I’m so very sorry to say that it’s time we stop taking it easy on you pathetic humans!”  Zanra grinned with a mouth full of very, very sharp teeth.  “And it’s time for you two to face your final challenge!  Most likely ever.”

 

Avril stepped in front of Kara, who lifted her staff into a defensive position.

“We are going to destroy you, in all likelihood.  It’s too bad your loved ones won’t get to hear you say goodbye!”  Vanra pulled the violin from her chest, her grin perfectly mirroring her twin’s.  “We’re going to kill all four of you.  Together--”

 

As one, even though they were at opposite sides of the hall, they said, “Or apart.”

 

*****

 

Cassie and Gemini stood on stage in a pair of slinky dresses, in front of what seemed like the entire school and all of their parents, extended family, and casually acquaintances.

The Schumacher twins reached for each other’s hands at the same time.  They looked at each other, nodded, and then moved so that they were standing back-to-back.

Cassie looked to the audience, and then she glanced to the where she thought Julius and Leah were.  She would sing, and Auggie would see it.  She looked offstage, and saw Octy, who smiled widely at her.

Gemini looked to the audience, and thought about how Bethany had confronted her in the hall, and how powerless she had felt.  She would sing, and everyone would see it.  She looked offstage, and saw June, waving to her and Cassie with Destiny, and the both of them giving smiles of approval.

The introduction to the music began to play, and, all at once, they began to move and sing.

 

All at once, the twins began to play.

Janice rushed Zanra with her mace in both hands.  She brought it down, but found a few notes plucked on her Penumbral Harp made a shield of darkness repelled her hard enough that she was flung back.  Kismet summoned a large bolt of flame and threw it at the twin, but a blast of darkness smashed through the fire, dispelling it and slamming into the ground right next to her, launching her away.

Kara blocked a blast of blinding light with a hard light shield as Vanra began to play on her Penumbral Violin.  Avril rushed forward on a jet of water, both swords raised, and slashed out at Vanra.  The bow slid down the neck of the violin, and the blast of light changed direction, blinding Avril and causing her swipe to go wide as Vanra casually stepped out of the way.

 

Cassie stepped forward and delivered a solo, and halfway through, she stepped back, and Gemini seamlessly took over.  She was smiling and dazzling and was, for the moment, completely deliberately oblivious to the fact that she was being watched by so many people.

Cassie joined back in at just the right time to start the chorus.  She was moving in sync with Gemini for the first time in a very long time.  They were not perfect, of course, but, unlike the absolute precise perfection that Senine had been moving and playing at, the Schumacher twins had heart.  They were pouring their all into the song, smiling and dancing and moving with enthusiasm as well as skill.

At that moment, neither twin cared that they were being watched, even when they misstepped, even when they slightly missed their cues.  They were happy, and they were feeling it.

 

Zanra’s fingers plucked rapidly across the strings, and waves of darkness rolled off of her, shattering the floor and walls all around her.  Janice and Kismet scrambled away to avoid the black energy that surged and crackled around the monstrous little girl.

Janice raise her foot and stomped down, and a wall of volcanic rock shot out of the ground, taking the wave of darkness.  Kismet vaulted over it, flame whirling around her as she did.  Zanra’s eye went wide as the axes came close to her, and jammed her fingers across random strings.

Vanra’s bow danced along the strings, and brilliant, harsh light smashed into Kara’s shield, sending her reeling back and shattering the hard light structure.  Another blast of impossibly bright light surged towards Avril, and she only barely managed to jet away as it demolished the wall behind her.

Kara rushed at Vanra, and was blasted with light.  The illusion of Kara shattered into scattered light, and she dropped her invisibility behind the evil twin, whipping her staff around and striking her in the back of the leg.  Vanra was knocked forward, and Avril jetted towards her on a spray of water, holding just one sword in both hands.  Vanra’s eye followed her sibling’s suit and widened as she drew her bow across a large number of random strings.

 

As Cassie and Gemini began the final verse, the entire school shook.

 

The hallway was destroyed.  Lockers were sundered from the wall, the floor was a shattered mess of tiles, lights overhead swung and blinked on and off, when they had not been cracked and broken beyond repair.

Vanra and Zanra floated towards the middle of the broken hall.  They grabbed each other in a tight embrace.

“Oh, Vanra!”  Zanra said.  “It was awful!  That horrible human almost attacked me!”

“Zanra, beloved sister, I know exactly what you mean!”  Vanra cooed.  “It’s alright, my sweet, fragile sister.  It’s alright.  We will kill them together!  As we were meant to!”

Kara knelt over Avril.  She was battered and broken from being thrown--coupled with the fact she was running on fumes, magically speaking, she was out cold.  Kara patted her on the head, and then started towards Vanra and Zanra.

Kismet was leaning against the wall.  She was battered and bruised from taking the brunt of the explosion, and her leg had twisted at a bad angle.

Janice made sure she was sitting right.  “Okay, Kizzy, when this is all over, we’ll get Cassie to fix your leg, okay?  I don’t think it’s broken.”

Kizzy gave her a weak smile.  “Whatever, I’ll be up and fighting in no time!  Just keep them busy while I get my strength back, okay?”

“Got it.”

“And don’t forget, you can’t beat my score!  So think about that dinner you’re getting me, okay?”

Janice rolled her eyes, and started towards the twins.

 

The school shaking only made the Schumachers falter for a second.  They finished and, like their friends, received a standing ovation.

When they curtseyed and walked off stage, they saw that June was pacing back and forth, and that lights were flickering around her.  She turned to them, and then to Senine.  “Can we please go save our friends, now?”

“They’ve got it, June.”  Senine insisted.  “There’s going to be the awards soon, and then we can leave.”

“But...”

“They’re unleashing Penumbral energy, yeah.  I can feel it and I’m not even attuned to it.  But we don’t want to give them an excuse to point that--”  Senine pointed towards the audience.  

June drooped.  “Okay.  Yes.  We wait for the awards.”

“I don’t like it either.”  Senine put a hand on June’s shoulder.  “But we need to trust in the other five that they have this under control.  We have a few minutes before decisions are made, we should prepare until then.”

“...Right.”  June said with a sigh, and looked to Cassie and Gemini.  “You two did really well, by the way.”

“Do you think so?”  Cassie asked, her voice hopeful.  “I do hope so.”

“Yeah!  You guys were great!”  Destiny beamed.  “I almost wanna fire Kara and hire you guys, did you choreograph that yourselves?”

“Would we have it any other way?”  Gemini said with a proud smirk that belied the knots turning in her stomach.

“Agreed!”  Octavian hugged the both of them.  “You were marvelous!  You both truly need to sing more often!”

June’s smile could not stay.  She kept looking back to the hall, even when the oblivious normal people in the audience called for encores, and the judges called for all contestants to come on stage.

 

*****

 

“There’s only two of you.”  Vanra said as her bow touched the strings.  “I do hope you realize that.”

“They’re only weak pathetic humans, my dearest sister!  I do hope we also do not break them too--”  Zanra began, and then let out a shrill shriek as a very sharp, oversized tarot card struck her right in her eye.  She stumbled back, and Vanra rushed to her, making very concerned noises as she did.

“You’re bad at counting.”  Veracity said as she arrived on the scene, cards fanned out in front of her as she moved.  “There are three of us.  Soon to be four.”

“V, I am really, really glad to see--”  Janice began, and then looked fully at her.  “You’re bleeding.”

“Only a little.”

“Your arm looks broken.”

“Only a little.”

Kara sighed.  “You really should’ve told us the part where you’d be half dead, V, and I swear, if you say you’re only a little half dead--”

“No, the joke is done, and the battle is about to begin.”  Veracity said.

As she did, Vanra pulled the card from Zanra’s eye and tossed it away.  Zanra let out a howl of pain, turning away from the others for a moment.  When she turned back, her eye was as it was before, though she had a matching set of wounds above and below it.

“You HURT me.”  Zanra hissed, eye narrowing.  “YOU hurt ME.”

Veracity held up her hand and lowered her fingers one at a time, from five, to one.

On the one count, Vanra was pegged in the chest by a sledgehammer with enough force that she was knocked through the wall and into the classroom beyond.  Senine stepped next to Veracity, kissed her on the cheek, and called her hammer back to her hand.  “Sup.  I ditched the awards but you can’t say this interefered because there is basically no universe where I don’t ditch the awards.  The only reason I was there is because Auggie gave me a blood debt.”

Zanra growled as Vanra bursted from the wreckage.  Both of them gave the Stellar Rangers a matching glare.

“We need to kill them, sister.”  Zanra said and then brought up her harp.

“Yes, sister.  They will die.”

“All.”

“Of.”

“Them.”  They finished together.

“Wow.  Creepy twins.”  Senine said, unimpressed.  “Trust me the Schumachers were creepy way before you two came on the scene.  They grew out of it.”

Both of them looked at Senine, and, in perfect sync, smiled, exposing mouths full of long, sharp teeth.

“...Okay, they didn’t do that.”

“PLEASE keep antagonizing the terrible monster kids!”  Kara glared at Senine, and then paused.  “Wait, actually...cover me!”

Rather than elaborate, Kara vanished.  At that same time, both of the twins began to play.

A shimmering field of light surrounded them both as darkness began to coalesce in front of them.  Janice charged forward and, as she swung her mace, Senine gestured, causing the mace’s gravity to increase as the searing-hot smash struck the light field.

There was a shimmering ripple through the shield but Vanra’s bow did not stop dancing along her violin’s strings.  Vanra and Zanra both grinned, and Zanra strummed her fingers across the harp strings.

Darkness flashed in beams that shot out all round her.  Veracity casually sidestepped one, and then threw a card, not into them, but into the wall behind them.  Janice managed to raise a block of molten rock that exploded when the dark beam hit it rather than her.  Senine jumped up, pushed off the ceiling, and then charged down to slam her hammer into the shield around the twins.  However, much like with Janice, she was not able to shatter it.

Vanra’s song continued as Zanra began to charge darkness again.

Senine took a step back and frowned.  “Well.  This isn’t going super well for us.”

“Darling.”  Veracity said, as she fanned her cards in front of her.  “I do love your way with words.”

“Fuck you, V.”

“Swoon.”

“Girls!”  Janice said.  She was ready to raise more rock to block at next barrage of darkness.  “Flirt after we’re dead!”

The violin played at a more frenzied pace, and the harp strings followed suit.  The smiles on the twins’ faces only grew the more they played, and the more energy built around them.

Fire blasted over their shield as Kismet picked herself off the ground and advanced on the monster.  Avril, leaning against the wall to keep off a twisted ankle, tried to smash the other side with a blast of water.  Neither did much as darkness built higher and higher, and the shield shimmered brighter and brighter.

“Wow, nice outfits.  Did your  _ mom _ pick them out for you?”  Kara called from where she stood, behind the twins.

The playing slowed, and, as one, the twins turned around to look at Kara.

“Yes.”  Vanra began.

“She did.”  Zanra finished.  The defensive tone was clear in both of their voices.

“It shows.  What, was she blind or something?”  Kara took a step back.

“No!  Mother is perfect!”  Vanra snapped.

“Mother loves us and these are good dresses!”  Zanra growled.

Kara rolled her eyes.  “Maybe when you were, what, two?  I guess that makes sense when we’re fighting little kids.  How old are you, five?”

“We’re ENDLESS!”  Vanra’s playing became more erratic.

“Our BODIES are ELEVENISH!”  Zanra’s fingers missed a string.

“Wow, so you’re immortal and you  _ choose _ to be eleven?  Wow, someone’s got issues.  Does your mommy still breastfeed you, too?”  Kara took another step back.

The energy around the twins became more violent and unstable.  Veracity snapped her fingers, and her thrown card zipped back towards her.  As it did, it smashed into the light field and sent a disruptive wave through it.  A blast of water knocked the twins to the side, and they found themselves pulled hard into a pillar of molten rock when they were off balance.  Flame swept over both of them, charring them in places.

And yet, they charged out of the fire, burnt and battered but focused completely on Kara.  Kara turned and ran down the hall as fast as she could.

 

*****

 

“Thank you, Cassie and Gemma for that lovely encore!  Let’s give another round of applause for our third place winners!”

Cassie and Gemini curtseyed to the audience and waved.  They were crying with tears of surprise and joy at having even gotten third place.

“And now, Bernadette, could you get up here and give your second place encore?!”

June stood behind the curtain and made a whimpering noise.  “There are  _ encores _ ???”

“Unfortunately, yes.”  Octy said.  “But never fear, June!  I’m positive the others have things well in hand!”

 

*****

 

Kara leaped out of the way of a blast of darkness that burned a small crater into the oversized lawn in front of the school.  She ducked a blast of light at just the right moment, but underestimated the force of the explosion and was knocked away, onto the ground.

Vanra and Zanra both glared down at Kara.  “You talked bad about our Mother.”  They said as one.

“Now.”

“You.”

“Die.”  They began to play, then, and it was a song that Kara recognized.  June called it a Finale.

Light and Darkness both gathered around Zanra and Vanra, and then the song changed.  Both songs interwove in ways that were hard for Kara to follow.  Light and darkness surrounded them in a shield, and all around them, swirling primal dark and primal light gathered in not just one place, but several.

Instability jolted through them, however, and the songs were not stable.  Darkness surged out, and light coursed through the both of them.

“Kara!”  Janice called, and raised a wall of molten rock in front of her friend.  

Senine smashed her hammer against the shield and managed to disrupt it.  Fire washed over the twins, and Avril managed to burst forward and jam her sword into Zanra before the shield snapped back into place and shattered her blade.

Veracity, on the other hand, pulled a card from her deck.  It showed a girl with rainbow hair, holding up a crystal staff, surrounded by flowers, and the number I.  She put the card back, and did not act.

“Grand Finale!”  The Twins called together, and an unstable explosion of light and dark blasted down at Kara, despite all the damage inflicted upon them by the other Stellar Rangers.

The lawn was obliterated, as was the Solar City High sign.  All the windows on the front of the school had been shattered, and the Stellar Rangers were all tossed to the side.

There was a smoldering, twenty foot wide hole where Kara had been standing.

Both of the twins began to cackle.  They were charred and there was still a blade sticking out of Zanra’s back, but they were both smiling as their instruments vanished.

“Vanra!  How wonderful!  We killed that wretched awful girl!”

“Oh, yes, Zanra!  We truly destroyed her.  How splen--”

“Losers.”  Kara said as she appeared, stepping out of the shattered front hall of the school.  “You obliterated an illusion.  I went invisible before I even started taunting you.”

Vanra and Zanra both turned towards Kara with matching, startled expressions.  Then, Vanra took a beam of rainbow light to--and through--the chest.

“Oh, hey.  There went all your energy, huh?”  Kara was smirking as she advanced on the twins.  The other Stellar Rangers began to pull themselves, groaning, to their feet.  “Wow, that sucks for you guys, huh?”

Zanra looked to Vanra, and reached into her chest, but did not find her harp.  Vanra looked at the Rangers, and then to her sister, and grabbed her.  “We will finish this later!”

In twin flashes of light and dark, they vanished.

 

*****

 

“Well.”  Destiny said as the Stellar Rangers sat around the infirmary, two hours later.  “June and I might’ve won, but the real winner is Kara, who got the school shut down for a week because of a ‘gas leak’.”

“Everyone else helped.”  Kara said from her spot on one of the beds.  “I’m just the one conscious enough to take credit for it.”

June was skulking in a corner, with Faye rubbing her shoulders.

“You girls did well, considering.”  Ms. Kerberus said with a frown.  “However, you should have contacted me as soon as they approached you with this deal.  We could have canceled the talent show and then mounted a coordinated effort.  Half of you have rather serious injuries, now.”

“It is no problem healing them, Ms. Kerberus.”  Cassie said as she flitted from Ranger to Ranger, giving them light, careful healing with each touch.

“None at all.”  Gemini sighed dreamily as she absorbed lesser injuries from the others, her smile not leaving her despite the accrued injuries.

Auggie grinned from where she was, next to Amber.  “I told you guys you’d love it.”

“And we did!  We did so well, I’d imagine, had we overcome our anxiety and practiced more, we may have even gotten second place!”  Cassie walked over to Auggie and hugged her tightly.  “I am still a little miffed at you but thank you all the same.”

“Girls.”  Ms. Kerberus interrupted.  “The talent show is not important, now.  What you claim to have seen today is very, very worrisome.  Even though you claimed victory...we now know that stopping these monsters isn’t as easy as just conventional methods of killing something, and also that they are very volatile and possess incredible, if uncontrolled, destructive power.  Were it not for the natural resistance to magic your star hearts give...I fear you would not just being patched up, here and now.”

“And another thing.”  Janice said, glancing over at Kara as she spoke.  “They were real, real pissed when their mom got mentioned.”

June frowned at that.  There was something in that statement that she definitely did not like, though she was not entirely certain why, yet.  “...How did they have a shield AND do a improved version of the Finale?  If they were playing at the same time, on the same song, how did they even do that?”

“I’m sure you can, too, Junie!”  Faye nuzzled June’s shoulder.  “You just need to try!”

“Yeah.”  June said and leaned into Faye.  “Sure.”

 

*****

 

Zanra let out a snarl of frustration and slammed her fist into a wall. The wall shuddered, and her tiny bones cracked.  “THOSE INSECTS!!!!”

“Calm, sister...”  Vanra pleaded, tugging on Zanra’s charred dress.  “Please?  I don’t like--”

She was cut off when Zanra pivoted and grabbed Vanra around the throat.  She squeezed and hissed.  “THAT VERMIN DEFEATED US!!!!  A PITIFUL DISGUSTING INSIGNIFICANT HUMAN AGAIN!  LIKE  _ HER _ !!!”

“I--I--”  Vanra clawed at her throat.  “s-sister...p-please...”

Zanra’s eyes widened, and she dropped her sister and then immediately hugged her.  “Oh, no!  I’m such a terrible pathetic creature, sister, I’m so sorry I hurt you!”

“It’s alright!  It’s not like I need to breath, my dearest, most darling, perfect sister.  You are just annoyed.  I understand, my beloved sister.  I completely understand.”

“She...they’re all so horrible.”  Zanra began to sob into her twin’s chest.  Vanra petted her hair.

“I know.  I heard all the wretched things she said, sister.  But they don’t know.  They don’t understand who we are.  What we are.  And we’re fine, sister!  We’re fine.”  Vanra looked Zanra in the eyes and smiled.  “We will win.  We will open the vault and claim our prize, and those horrible, horrible human creatures will get what they deserve.”


	8. Episode 8:  Doctor Lament's House of Horrors

    Auggie yawned as she sat at her computer, in complete darkness save for her computer screen.  On it, she guided her MMO character through another dungeon.  She groaned as the tank grabbed three groups at once and his health began to rapidly decrease as the healer struggled to keep up.

    “...Like, ugh, are you still, like, awake?”

    “....No.  This is a dreeEeeeAm.”  Auggie called back without looking.  “Seriously though, just one more dungeon.  It’s not like--oh, heck.”  The tank went down, and she burned all her cooldowns to try to get the packs down before the whole team wiped.  “--we have school or anything. Aw, man.”

    Amber yawned.  “Like, whatever?  You’re like, gonna be tired all day.”

    “I’m fine!  Hey, quick question, could you tank for me real quick?”

    “Go to BED you nerd!”

    “One last dungeon, I just need the daily.”  She said, and then swore under her breath.  “The stupid tank!  He just blamed the healer who is doing his best and left!  UGH!  I hate the people who play this sometimes.  Are you sure you can’t tank real quick?  I’ll go right to bed when we’re done, and I know you need the helmet from this place.”

    Auggie did not get a response.  She sighed as her party re-queued and turned around in her chair.  “Babe?”

    Amber was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide.  Zanra was also on the bed, kneeling next to Amber with her large, sharp teeth pressed against--but not penetrating--Amber’s throat.  Vanra was standing in front of the bed and smiling at Auggie.

    “Amber!”  Auggie started to stand, but Vanra shook her head.

    “Oh no!  I’m sorry, stupid, terrible human!  But if you try to attack us I will have to tell my sister to bite down!”

    Zanra said something Auggie could not understand.  She saw Amber tense as the monster child’s jaws moved just slightly.

    “What my sister means is, we learned something about your world!  Something we want you to tell us all about, unless you want to deal with my poor sister having to deal with all that disgusting human flesh in her mouth!”

    “A-anything, whatever you want.”  Auggie held up her hands to show there was nothing in them.  “Just don’t hurt her.”

    Vanra grinned.  “Splendid!  Now...tell us about this ‘free candy holiday’.”

 

*****

 

    “But...but it is my birthday.”  Cassie whined.

    “I know, Cass.”  June sighed.  All of the Rangers, save for Amber and Auggie, were sitting in the common room of Stellar Ranger HQ.  June was sitting by herself, for once, as Faye was busy braiding Destiny’s hair.  “But the Twins are probably going to try something.  Especially if they think we’re having fun.”

    “But...”  Cassie looked absolutely heartbroken.

    “We can celebrate MY party, tomorrow.”  Gemini grinned at her sister.  “That will be fine, right?  I can just get all the presents you were going to get.”

    Cassie glared daggers at her twin.  Octy knelt next to his girlfriend and hugged her.  “Fear not, beloved!  We will still do something!  We just won’t go to the haunted house, that’s all!”

    “But....”

    “I agree with June.” Senine said from where she was leaning against the wall.  Veracity, in turn, was leaning against her.  “No big events, no big parties.  Not until we get those gremlins out of our lives for good.  We can celebrate but it needs to be on familiar ground.”

    “That doesn’t sound like celebration.”  Kismet said.  “Let the girl have a birthday!  She’s a twin with her own birthday, that’s a divine blessing.”

    Destiny nodded in affirmation.  “No two-for-one birthdays for her.”

    “Probably the same amount of tacky, matching clothes, though.”

    “Actually.”  Auggie said as she entered the common room.  Amber trailed behind her.  She was still limping slightly, and kept touching her neck.  “We won’t have a problem with them, tonight.”

    “Are you guys okay?”  June asked.  She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

    “Vanra and Zanra showed up in our room.”  Auggie said.  She squeezed Amber’s hand.  “They, uh, have a proposition for us?  They wanna go trick-or-treating, and if Octy and Senine will be their Mommy and Daddy for the night--their words, don’t kinkshame me--and take them trick-or-treating, they’ll leave us alone for the next few days.”

    “So, it’s a trap, right?”  Kara asked from the periphery of the group.

    “I don’t think so?  They seem really, really hyped for free candy.”

    “So they showed up in your guys’ room?”  June almost said ‘too’.

    Amber nodded.  “The, like, excitable one, the one in white, whatever, she like, put her mouth on my, like, throat?”

    “Jaws.”  Janice murmured from her spot near June.  

    When several of her friends looked at her, she shook her head.  “Nevermind.  It’s a theory I’m working on.  I need more research.”

    “Oh, Amber!”  Faye rushed over to her and hugged her.  “I’m so sorry, that’s awful!”

    “Should we trust them?”  Avril frowned.  “More importantly, should we let Octy and Senine just....go alone with a pair of hostile, dangerous monsters?”

    “Oh, yeah, totally.”  Kismet suddenly chimed in.  “We should absolutely back them up.”

    Senine gave Kismet a death glare.  “Naw.  Octy and I will be fine.  Isn’t that right, Mommy?”

    “Absolutely, Daddy!”  Octy grinned.  “I have just the housedress waiting for the occasion!”

    “I can’t BELIEVE that I had to watch my girlfriend get held hostage by monsters and THIS is the worst thing I’ve seen all day.”

    “I think you guys should have backup.”  June said.  “You can’t predict these things.  They’re dangerous.”

    “We beat ‘em before.”  Kismet chimed in.  “You worry too much, they’re actually kinda dumb?  And easy to manipulate.”

    “The Worse Marsh is right.”  Senine said.  “We’ll be fine, I can handle little kids, murderous or not.  Besides, if they can just come into our rooms, then they could kill us whenever.  There has to be a reason why they haven’t, yet.”

    “Or why they haven’t just come into our rooms and taken our energy.”  June added.  “It doesn’t add up.  Why just send monsters to do it?  Why not just take what they need right from us?”

    “Probably because they’re dumb kids.”  Destiny said.  She looked at where Faye was still hugging Amber and pouted.  “Anyway, it’s for the best, cause half of you guys are still busted up from the talent show.”

    “So...”  Cassie looked at the others.  “We CAN do my party???”

    June sighed, but she smiled, afterwards.  “Yeah, sure, but just be ready for the Twins--the bad ones--to do something.  We might need to bail out Octy and Senine.”

    “Ha!  That’s not very likely.”  Senine grinned.  “I’ll be fine, trust me.  Weird enough as it is, they didn’t attack the crowd when we kept on our word.  I don’t think they’re going to break their word this time, either, and if they do?  I’m going to steal all their candy.”

 

*****

 

    “C’mon, V.”  Destiny said as she pulled the last part of her costume, a blue circlet, on.  She was wearing a black robe covered in square spirals and had crude broom that was currently resting against the wall.  “You should come!  What else are you gonna do, your girlfriend’s playing House with Octy.”

    Veracity, who did not have a costume on, checked a card, and then put it back in the deck.  “I’ll pass.  I’m sure the eleven of you will have a wonderful time wandering around a dark, drafty house, getting jump scared.”

    “Dezzy.”  Kismet frowned as she looked down at her outfit.  It was the same as Destiny’s, except she was wearing a red gem in her headband.  “Can’t we wear something sexy instead of something nerdy?”

    “Sis, whatever we wear is sexy.”

    “Okay, true.”  Kismet looked over at Veracity.  “For real though, V, it’s not like you to be boring.”

    “I just don’t think I’d have a good time.”  Veracity felt around until she found the piano that was in the storage room the Marches were getting changed in, opened it up, and started to play a few notes.  “Mostly through cheating with magic.  You two should have an unforgettable time, though.”

    “Sooooo....”  Kismet draped herself on Veracity’s back.  “Veracityyyy, could you cheat with magic and see if I get to make out with Avril?”

    “Answer unclear, try again later.”

    Kismet stuck out her tongue and pried herself off of Veracity.  “I can’t even do a rude gesture to your blind ass.”

    “And that’s what I live for, Kizzy.”

 

    “Like...”  Amber said as she stared down at her costume.  “Maybe I should, like, not go?”  Below her, on Cassie’s guest room’’s bed, was a white tank top, some hair gel, a pair of jeans, and a black leather jacket.  “Like...I don’t know?  I’m, like...not feeling a lot?”

    “But...but it’s going to be fun!”  Faye popped out of the closet in her own outfit--she was wearing a modern approximation of a chiton.  She had a costume quiver on her back that had a toy bow and toy arrows inside of it, and a moon-shaped clasp on the front of her dress.  “It’s a haunted house!  We’ll be scared and Auggie will jump and cling to you and laugh!”

    “Ugh.  Like.  She’s going to, like, want to be near Cassie, anyway.”  Amber sighed.  “Plus, like, I still have a limp?  I, like, don’t know, Faye.”

    Faye frowned and walked over to Amber.  “Well...I’ll stay with you if you want to stay behind!  You’re my best friend and we should watch out for each other!”

    “Like....”  Amber looked back at Faye.  “I just, like, keep getting taken hostage???”

    “That’s not your fault!  You’re good, don’t worry about it!”

    “But...”

    “I mean it!  You’re good, Amber!  I don’t mind that it happened and I bet no one else does, either!  We’re all just glad you’re safe!”

    “...Just, like.  Like.”  Amber sniffled, and Faye hugged her.

    “Come on!  I’ll help you with your hair.  You’ll be the prettiest greaser ever!  And we can stick together during the haunted house!  You’ll always be the top of my pyramid, no matter what!”

    Amber rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.  “Like, that was like..”  She smiled a bit wider, and started to tear up.  “L-like, so lame.”

 

    Cassie adjusted the halo sticking out of her hairband as Auggie adjusted Cassie’s wings.  “Was I being tactless?”

    “You love your party!  It’s natural.”  Auggie straightened out the feathers.  She was dressed in a backless blue dress with a teardrop-shaped costume gem glued to her back.  “There.  You’re ready to start telling me to do good things.  Start with telling me to eat more candy.”

    Cassie turned around.  “But this is important, Auggie, and I just...Oh, I was being so self-absorbed!”

    “You’re fine!  We need to enjoy our haunted house, remember?  ‘Dr. Lament’s House of Horrors’, right?  Where’d you even FIND a place with a name that hokey?”

    “Gemini, naturally.  It was her suggestion.”

    “It’s...kind of weird to see you two getting along?  Good weird but weird.”

    “This was NOT us getting along.  She suggested it as a joke but it looked charming.”  Cassie frowned.  “I swear, I cannot fathom a time when we were similar.”

    Auggie cracked a grin.  “So, just checking--do you know what her outfit is?”

    “No, what?”

 

    “There.”  Janice said as she straightened out the red devil wings on Gemini’s back.  “You’re all ready to tell me to sin.”

    Gemini made sure her horns were on straight and grinned.  “Excellent.  I just wish the skirt were shorter, so I can work on seducing Auggie.”

    Janice gave Gemini her most judgemental frown.  She was dressed in a pseudo-western outfit with a leather top and a fake sawed-off shotgun at her hip.  “Gemma.  You’re not supposed to be sinning.  You’re supposed to be making other people sin.”

    Gemini rolled her eyes.  “Look, she will be happier with me!  I do not really care if Amber stays along for the ride but Auggie and I are meant for each other.”

    “Nope.  Stop.  Uh-uh.”  Janice crossed her arms over her chest.  “Absolutely not.  You are not gonna seduce Auggie.”

    “I’ve been waiting to make a move!  Tonight’s the perfect night.  I can take care of her when she’s scared.”

    “Oh my god, Gemma.  Stop.  No.  Don’t seduce your sister’s best friend at your sister’s birthday.  Bad.  It’s not even gonna work!”

    “She likes me.  I like her.  It’s going to work.”

    “No!  She has a girlfriend!  And also, she doesn’t just ‘like’ you, you guys have a weird and complicated history!  In which you were an ass to her!”

    “Cassie was too!”

    Janice groaned.  “No, Gemma.  Absolutely not.”

    “It’s been almost a year since I said I was sorry.”

    “Yeah!  And that was really cool of you, but she doesn’t owe you anything because of it.  God, that’s not why you said it, is it?”

    “No!  No, I meant it!  Just...she keeps being flirty and Amber is flirty a bit too in, like, her weird antisocial way.  I just want it to be done so we can...”

    “So you can be like you want to be.”  Janice put a hand on her arm.  “Hon, I know you really, really want to be with Auggie but you really shouldn’t push it.  If nothing happens with it, nothing happens.  But you don’t wanna be pushy ‘cause she doesn’t have the greatest associations with pushy Gemini.”

    Gemini sunk a bit.  “Bluh.  Why did I become friends with you?  You’re insufferably goodie-goodie.”

    “Cause even devils need a shoulder angel.”  Janice smiled at her.  “Sadly, the angel costume’s taken.”

    “Wait, someone’s an angel?  Who?”

    Janice laughed.  “Wait, you don’t know?”

 

    Both Schumachers, across the Schumacher estate from each other, said at once, “God DAMN it.”

 

    “Oh, thank god.”  Kara said as she saw Avril.  Kara was in what she had worn during the day--a skirt, leggings, and a tank top.  “I’m not the only one without a costume.”

    Avril was, as was normal for her, in a dress shirt and slacks.  “Veracity, Senine, and I had group costumes, but I don’t want to wear mine without them.”

    “Oh, right.  Another video game thing, right?”  Kara said.  “Honestly, I just...want to take it chill, you know?”

    Avril gave a brief sound of affirmation.  “Same.”

    “Sooo...any like, pressing romantic angst?  Concerns about your performance in battle?  Weird twin stuff?”

    “I’m not a twin.”

    “Right.”

 

    June sprawled out on the Schumacher couch.  She was in her costume--a black tunic, grey leggings, a floppy black hat, and pointed ears. She was staring up at the ceiling and frowning.

    She heard children running around near her, and then Cassie’s mother shouting that they needed to get their butts in gear if they wanted candy.

    June sat up and checked her phone.  As she did, a flurry of messages came through, all saying that everyone was ready to go.  Instead of going to the front hall where she was supposed to meet everyone, June walked through the living room and out onto the back porch.

    The sun was on its way down, and June pulled her sunglasses on from her costume’s belt pouch to keep the hateful glare from her eyes.  She pulled up the main menu from the phone, and went to her internet browser.

    The page that was currently up was a very barebones website, that had, in Comic Sans above it, the words, “Professor Laments House of Horror’s”.  Under the banner were several poorly-sized pictures of a big, empty house with dark walls and a picket fence in excessively poor condition around it.  Maddeningly, the sign above the front door actually had correct apostrophe placement.

    Below the pictures was a list of accounts of possible murders that may have happened in the home, that ran the gamut from ‘escaped serial killer’ to ‘vengeful lover’ to ‘evil spirit-possessed college student’.

    None of it looked threatening or legitimate in any regard, especially given that June had a couple years of literal monster fighting under her belt.  Yet, as June looked at these terrible, amatuer images, she felt a knot in the pit of her stomach that would not go away.

    June got another text.  She checked it and saw that it was Faye, asking where she was.  June put the phone away and re-entered the home.  In little time, she was in the front room of the house.

    “I can’t BELIEVE you two matched on accident.”  Destiny said with a smirk.

    “TOTAL twin noobie mistake.”  Kismet said with a nod.

    “Quiet.”  Cassie fumed.

    “You matched on purpose!  That’s worse!”

    “Pft.”  Destiny said.

    “As if.”

    Gemini narrowed her eyes.  “Whatever, that game’s ancient, anyway.”

    Kismet crossed her arms over her chest.  “Excuse me?”

    Destiny flipped her hair.  “It’s a classic.  Tell her, bae.”

    June blinked.  “Uh, well....mine’s actually based off the outfit in the new one?  I never played that one.”

    “Ha!”  Cassie said, though she was not entirely sure why.

    They were interrupted by a knock on the door.  Cassie opened it, and in stepped Octy and Senine.

    June had to take a moment to put the jaw back in her mouth.

    Senine was dressed in an immaculate black suit with a purple vest and tie.  It was extremely well tailored to her, and came complete with a silver pocket watch chain.  Octavian, on the other hand, was dressed in a powder blue housedress and had a curly blue wig that was immaculately styled.  Her makeup was perfect, and her eyeliner game was one hundred percent on point.

    There were a few moments of silence as everyone stared at them.  Senine and Octy both grinned the longer it went on.

    “No.”  Auggie said.  “No no no no no!  I cannot BELIEVE my brother is HOTTER than me!  This is unbeLIEVABLE!!!”

    “Well, tonight, I think, I’m your sister!  And you can absolutely believe your sister is hotter than you, yes, Augusta?”

    Auggie made a frustrated noise and stomped her foot.  “God DAMNIT, Octy!”

    Amber patted her on the back.  “Whatever, they’re, like, not THAT hot.”

    “I’m going to have to disagree with you, Rusty.”  Senine said.  “I am so hot I could set a nunnery on fire just by passing by, right now.”

    “Holy hell I am way more gay than I thought I was.”  Janice muttered to herself.

    “Anyway.”  Senine looked over to Auggie and Amber.  “As much as Octy and I love being the center of attention, how are we supposed to get in contact with Fangly and Toothy?”

    “Oh.”  Vanra said from where she was, sitting on the air behind the Rangers.  “We were waiting for you, Daddy!”

    “Oh yes, Mommy!  We’ve just been waiting for you to arrive.”  Zanra said, from where she sat, next to her sister.

    Vanra was dressed in Zanra’s dress, with Zanra’s eyepatch, and Zanra was in Vanra’s dress, with Vanra’s eyepatch--though the same eyes as usual were covered.

    “Okay, first of all.”  Senine stepped forward, past the others, who had all taken defensive stances.  “What am I looking at, here?  You two are going...as each other?”

    “Yes, Daddy!”

    “Absolutely, Daddy!”

    “I’m dressed as the thing I love the most.”

    “So am I!  Oh, Vanra, this is wonderful!  Or should I say, ‘oh, Zanra;’!”

    Senine rolled her eyes.  “Daddy doesn’t approve, girls.”

    “Oh, but Mommy does!”  Octavian (or, perhaps, Octavia, today) walked forward and gave a nod of approval.  “It’s very adorable!  You two get gold stars of Mommy Approval.”  Octy reached into her purse and removed two gold stars, and placed them on each of the twins’ shirts.

    Vanra and Zanra both beamed up at Octy.

    “Oh, Mommy!”

    “You’re the second best Mommy we’ve ever had!”

    “Ahem.”  Senine said.  “Girls, those costumes just aren’t going to cut it.  It’s a cute concept, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not going to be cute enough to maximize your candy.”

    “I have honestly.”  June said, watching the scene unfold.  “Literally.  I have never, ever been this weirded the hell out, before.”

    Vanra and Zanra looked stern, and nodded up at Senine.  “Yes, Daddy!”

    “We understand.”

    “We want all the candy.”

    “Show us the free candy ways, Daddy.”

    “Come along, children!  And no flying.”  Octy said as she led the twins out of the house.  “We don’t want people running away!  We want you to have all the candy you can get.”

    “Ladies.”  Senine said with a grin to the other Rangers as she followed the monsters and her best friend.

    “Absolutely nothing is going to be as unsettling as that was.”  Kara said.  “Absolutely nothing.  Let’s go so we can laugh at this dumb haunted house, get pizza, and steal some alcohol so we can erase all those images from our heads.”

    Kara got absolutely no disagreements from any of her friends.

    Before they could leave, however, there was a very insistent knock on the front door.

    Cassie blinked, and opened the door.  “Did you forget any--”

    At the door was a very tall girl, about nineteen years old, with short, teal hair and orange eyes.  She seemed startled to see Cassie, and looked past her, to June.  “Oh!  June, sorry, no time to explain.  Have you seen Sunny?”

    “I...sorry?  Do I know you?”

    “Oh.  Wait. What year are you?”

    “A freshman?”

    “Aw, no, nevermind.  She’ll turn out okay,  Nevermind!  See you next year.”  The girl closed the door.

    Faye looked confused.  “Did you...know her?  What was that?”

    June did not look any less confused.  “I have absolutely no idea.”

    “She looked familiar, though, did she not?”  Cassie asked.

    “You know, a bit.”  Auggie replied with a nod.  “Don’t ask me where from, though.  Anyway, that’s not important!  We have a hilarious and spooky evening ahead of us, followed by pizza and...maybe underage drinking to do!”

 

*****

 

    “Alright, so.”  Senine said as she walked down the costume aisle at the local megastore.  “We need some ground rules.  One, you aren’t allowed to steal candy from other kids, or to eat anyone.  Got it?”

    “Aw!”  Vanra pouted.

    “Daddy is so rough!”  Zanra frowned.

    “Wow, okay, also never say that again.  Do we have a deal?”

    “Deal.”  Both twins said at once.

    “Excellent.  Okay, so, you two seem like the matching-costume type.  Let’s see...do any of these stand out?”

    “Uhhhh.”  Vanra poked a pirate, and then looked over at Senine.  “All of these are awful!”

    “I agree with my beautiful, wonderful sister, Daddy!  They’re all wretched!”

    “Well, yeah.  I figured you could use your horrible demon magic or whatever to just make a costume for each of you or something.”

    “Oh.”

    “Well, yes.”

    “Now.”  Senine walked over to a different pirate outfit.  “How about this?  It comes with an eye patch, so you won’t have to explain the whatever-the-fuck is wrong with your face.”

    Zanra frowned.  “Daddy, it’s ugly!”

    Vanra looked at it with disgust.  “Red and white stripes?  The worst!”

    Senine rolled her eyes.  “Don’t you two awful children have any imagination?  Look, it’s simple.  Just change your outfit to be a pirate outfit.  Do whatever you want with the design and color scheme.  Here.”  Senine tapped on her phone and showed a slideshow of pirate outfits to Vanra and Zanra.

    The twins looked over them, and then at each other, and nodded.  Light swirled around Vanra, and darkness swirled around Zanra.  When it faded, Vanra and Zanra were wearing more or less identical outfits, save that Vanra’s was black and Zanra’s was white.  It consisted of a frilly shirt, pants, a bandana, and an eyepatch.  Vanra had a series of white teeth-marks in the shape of a sharkbite around her midsection, and Zanra had black sucker-marks, like would be left by an attacking octopus, going up her arms.

    “...Okay, that’s more what I was talking about.  Come on, let’s go find Mommy.”

    “I’m right here!!!”  Octy said as she stepped into the aisle.  She had two full shopping bags.  “I have some cupcakes for my best little girls!  A nice sugar rush for you to get on your way trick-or-treating.  And, oh my!  You two are just adorable!”

    “Mommy!”  The twins crowded around her.  Vanra pulled a package of cupcakes out, and Zanra grabbed the other bag completely.

    “You’re spoiling them.”  Senine poked Octy in the chest.  “Halloween aside, these guys are our enemies-of-the-year.  Don’t give them cupcakes.”

    “Oh, come now, Senine!  Look at how happy they are!”

    Vanra opened the package and started to shove cupcakes, wrapper and all, into her mouth.  Zanra opened her cavernous maw very wide and shoved the entire bag in her mouth at once.

    Senine stared at Zanra for a moment and then said, “Did she eat the bag with the tampons in it?”

    “....Shall I go buy you more?”

    Senine sighed.  “No.  I’ll get them.  Don’t let them eat anything else.”

    “I will watch them like a hawk!”  Octy said as Senine walked off.

    She turned back to the twins and saw that Vanra and Zanra had found the other shopping bag and were pulling things out and shoving them into their mouths, from cupcakes to a makeup kit to a bottle of water, and they finished by each taking a corner of the grocery bag in their mouth and pulling it in half, like a wishbone, before swallowing it.

    “....Oh.  Uh.  Don’t tell your father.”

 

*****

 

    Kara gave Destiny and Kismet an annoyed look.  “Oh my god stop taunting me!  Or taunt Avril!  She’s not wearing a costume, either!”

    “Sorry.”  Destiny said with a very not-sorry smile.  “Kizzy wants to smooch her.”

    “Right, so she’s off limits.  You, on the other hand.”

    “Lame!”  They both said at the same time.

    “I didn’t feel like a costume!  You two are the worst!”

    “Like...????”  Amber said, glancing back.  Her hair was slicked back.  “Avril’s, like, right here????  Like, ugh, keep it in your pants???”

    “Thank you.”  Avril said to Amber.

    Kismet cringed at that.

    Destiny nudged Kismet and gave her a sympathetic look.  “Sorry, Avril.”

    “It’s alright.”

    “So.”  June said as the pack of girls walked down the street.  It was a chilly autumn night, and trick-or-treating children were milling about, guardians in tow, all around them.  “Do we actually know anything about this place?’

    “It has a cheesy webpage?”  Auggie offered.

    “Oh, I thought it looked nice!”  Faye said, and wrapped her arm around June’s arm.  “It was quaint!”

    Gemini rolled her eyes.  “It was offensively bad.”

    “It WAS a crime against punctuation, as loathe as I am to agree with my sister.”  Cassie said.  “However, that is exactly why I wanted to come!  I want a fun time where we do not have to worry about awful things like Vanra and Zanra.”

    “Happy birthday, by the way.”  June said.  “I have your present back at my place.  I was going to give it to you when I took Gemma’s to her.”

    “You got me a present?  Why, June, just when I stop my overtures, you become that much more appealing.”

    “...So, Cassie, did you want two presents, or...?”

    Destiny and Kismet both let out a bark of laughter at that.

    “So, Jan.”  Kara asked, walking away from the twins to be closer to her.  “Were any of the murders true?”

    Janice made a face.  “You can’t just assume I did research on all this stuff, you know.”

    Kara gave her an expectant look.

    “...Okay, fine.  No.  It’s actually a pretty new house, nothing’s really happened?  Like, a family lived there until this haunted house got made.  The family didn’t die, either, they moved out and an anonymous person bought it and did, well, this to it.”  She pointed at the haunted house in front of them.  It was exactly as they had seen on the website.

    “Well, at least we aren’t the only ones here.”  June said as she watched a group of three older kids enter through the front door.  “You guys ready to get jumped at by people with bad masks and canned sound effects?”

    “I am absolutely ready to shriek and punch an actor, are you kidding?”  Auggie said.  “I’ve been waiting for this chance forever!”

    “You done that to Octy more than once.”  Cassie grinned at her best friend.

    “And it never gets old.”

    The group of teens entered the front door of the haunted house and found they were in a rectangular room with rattie green carpet and walls of decaying wood.  There were six doors leading off from the entry room.

    “hello.”  Came a voice over an unseen intercom.  It was high pitched, droning, devoid of emotion, and androgynous, and sounded as though whoever was speaking was using an impressive filter.  “i am doctor lament.  welcome to my house of horrors.  for this trip i require you split into groups of two and each pick a door.  whichever group succeeds will receive a prize of unfathomable value.  your lives.”

    Destiny snorted.  “Wow.  Just wow.”

    Auggie wiped a fake tear.  “It’s so beautiful.  I really dig the absolutely-not-invested-at-all announcer.”

    “There’re eleven of us.”  Avril frowned.  “I can go alone, if need be.”

    Kismet started to say something, but Kara stepped forward.  “Actually, I’ll head with you.  Us girls without costumes need to stick together.”

    Avril shrugged.  “Either way.  Though I’d rather go alone if no one else does.”

    “I’ll go alone.”  June said.  “That’s the leaderly thing to do, right?  Plus, if I jump at something, the rest of you will never let me hear the end of it if you see it.”

    Faye and Destiny both pouted at that.  “Okay, well, I’ll go with Amber, then!”  Faye turned to Amber and took her hand.

    Amber looked at Faye and got a very slight smile.  “Like, totally.”

    “WOW.”  Destiny said with a playful mockery of being offended.  “None of my ladies want to be with me!  I see how it is.”  She turned to her twin.  “Want to show these scrubs how it’s done, Kizzy?”

    “Hell yes.  We’ll be waiting for you ladies at the finish line.”

    “Oh, no!  Dezzy, I’m sorry.”  Faye frowned.

    “...Faye, sweetie, you’re adorable but I’m just joking.  Go have fun with your friend, I ain’t possessive.”  She put her hand on the first door as Kismet stepped up next to her.  “See you girls later!”

    They stepped through.

    “...I had wanted us to do this together.”  Cassie said.  “Oh well.”

    “I guess you’ll have to settle with your best friend.”  Auggie put her arm around Cassie.  “C’mon!  Let’s get your birthday stuff all started!”

    Cassie’s smile returned, and the two of them disappeared behind the second door with a wave.

    “...Are you sure you’re okay alone, Junie?”  Faye asked.

    June smiled.  “Yeah, I’m fine, Faye.  Go have fun with Amber.  I could use some alone time, and I’m a goth, I like spooky things as spooky as possible, and all alone is that spooky.”

    “...Okay.”

    Amber rolled her eyes.  “Like, come on, Faye-Faye!”

    Amber practically dragged her through the third door, with Faye casting sad glances behind her the whole time.

    “Nice.  Hey, Gemma, the Research Buddies ride again?”  Janice asked with a grin.

    Gemini rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.  “Yeah, sure, let’s go, Research Buddy.”

    June watched them go through the fourth door.  She wanted to smile, but that horrible feeling was still twisting in her stomach.

    “So, now that everyone else is gone.”  Kara walked up to June.  “What’s up?  You look like you’re waiting for a real chainsaw killer to  jump out at you.”

    “I have a bad feeling about this place, but I can’t tell if it’s a real thing of if it’s just...anxiety and depression or something.”

    “Hmm.”  Avril looked to the other doors.  “Should we get them out, then?”

    “No, it’s probably nothing.  You two have fun, okay?”

    Kara frowned.  “Okay, well, text me if you need an out, okay?  Team Depression, right?”

    June could not help put to smile.  “Team Depression, right.”

    Kara and Avril, both glancing back at June, went through the fifth door.  June walked over to the final door, sighed, and opened it.

    Beyond the door was a long, narrow hallway, that June could not quite see the end of.  As she entered, she heard someone shout, “WAIT!”

    The door slammed closed behind her as a tall, pudgy, and muscular girl of about eighteen or nineteen ran for her.  “WAIT DON’T LET THE DOOR--”

    June spun around but the door was already closed.

    “...Shut.”  The girl said.  “Great.”

    “Oh no.”  Another girl said in a deadpan as she came out of the darkness.  She was tall and thin, and wore mostly black except for an electric green hijab that was marked by a biohazard symbol.  “Did something predictable happen?  I’m shocked.”

    “Can it, Zuhal.”

    “No.”

    “Is...something wrong?”  June asked.  “Is the door stuck, or?”

    “It’s a trap, kid.”  Zuhal said.  “The other door won’t open.”

    “Yeah.  It’s stronger than it looks.”  The other girl looked over to June.  “I’m Sunny Daniels, and this is Zuhal Zamay.”

    “Call me ZZ.”

    “Don’t call her that.”

    “I’m June.”  June said.  “June Hespia.”

    Zuhal and Sunny both paused for a moment to stare at her.  Sunny said, “Sorry, did you say...Okay, wow, if only Mona was here.  Okay!  Nevermind.  Yes.  The door’s closed, and we can’t--”

    “ah.”  The voice of Doctor Lament said again over an unseen intercom.  “good.  the penumbra is here.  as are your targets.”

    “Right!  Yes.  Sunny!  ZZ!  Hello!”  Another voice said, bright and cheerful and subtly distorted.  The happier the voice got, the less recognizable it was as a voice.  “Everyone’s here, except for one.  Still, hard to trap an oracle, huh?”

    Sunny growled at the voice.  “Puck.  You aren’t supposed to be here.”

    “Neither are you!  Aw, Cordy’s slipping, but that’s okay.  You’ll all be dead soon, anyway.”

    Zuhal groaned and rolled her eyes.  “If you make things change this much, you’ll cease the exist, idiot.”

    Puck, whoever they were, made an excited squeal.  “Oh, do you promise?  Hey, Doc, what sorta nightmares do you have in store for these pests, huh?  Huh?! HUH?!”

    Dr. Lament sighed into the intercom.  “yes.  that.  the penumbra is an unknown.  it needs to be tested.  proper yield.  etc.  and this admittedly fascinating creature says three of you need to die.  but one is not here.  that is inconsequential to gathering my data.  the three anomalies must also be categorized.”

    “Dr. Lament.”  Sunny looked over to Zuhal.  “Z, what did Mona say about them?  I don’t remember and oh god I’m the worst sister ever.”

    “Yeah, pretty much.”

    “Shut it. Do you remember?  All I remember is the cool stuff not the creepy stuff.”

    “I tune her out more than anyone else.  I don’t remember anything.”

    “Okay.”  June said.  “Can someone please fill me in on what’s going on?  You guys sound like time travelers and coupled with the girl who told me I’d meet her next year I am ninety-nine percent sure this is time travel, especially because she asked me about you!”  June pointed at Sunny.

    “Oh!”  Puck said in their sing-song voice.  “She’s observant!”

    Sunny sighed.  “Wow this keeps getting worse. Yes, hi, hello, my name’s Sunny, I’m a Stellar Ranger from two hundred years in the future...assuming that messing with time this much doesn’t erase me or something.”

    “And I’m your great grandmother, from the past.”

    “Zuhal is also from the future.”

    “We’re here with Wendy, a third member of our team.  There was a...time accident?  Our leader, Cordy, has time powers and without spoiling anything that could unmake us, something happened and the four of us, and my sister, Mona, all lost in time.  I haven’t found Mona, or Cordy--but it sounds like you met her?  At some point in her really confusing timeline.  We think she and Cordy are just...somewhere else and unfortunately, there’s also Puck who is a jerk and also from our time.”

    “And now it’s time to play!  Oh, think of everything I can undo and unmake, here!”

    Zuhal sighed.  “It’s always that chipper.  I hate it.”

    “the creature’s goals are secondary.  the penumbra will be tested.  the house of horrors will commence.”

    As Dr. Lament said that, panels in the wood fell away, and buzz saws and large, clawed hands emerged.  Parts of the hall slammed together and pulled back open, only to slam again.

    “experiment:  the possessor of the penumbra’s performance under extreme and fatal distress.  i do hope you give me interesting data.”

 

*****

 

    Senine and Octy ducked behind a wall, with the twins giggling and running after them.

    Senine gave the twins her most unimpressed look.  “Alright, girls.”  The sound of frightened shrieks filled the air behind them.  “From now on?  Maybe take the candy in the BAG and don’t open your horrible mouths for them to give it directly to you.  The point of the holiday is to fill the bag completely and then to eat the whole thing at once.  Usually one by one and unwrapping it but I guess either way will work with you.  Do you understand?”

    Zanra giggled.  “Oh no, Daddy’s mad!”

    “Don’t punish us, Daddy!”

    “Now, girls.”  Octy said.  “If you frighten everyone, the others may close early in fear of you, and then, alas, no more candy.”

    Zanra and Vanra’s eyes both went wide at that.  “Oh, no!”

    Zanra tugged on Octy’s skirts.  “Please don’t let them take away the candy, Mommy!”

    Vanra tugged on Senine’s jacket.  “Oh, Daddy, I didn’t mean to be bad!”

    Senine rolled her eyes.  “Okay, first of all, don’t say ‘don’t punish me, Daddy’ again.  Second of all, just do as we say and I promise, you’ll be rolling in candy.  Not literally, unless you want to.  Your candy your rules.  Now, let’s get going.”

    Senine groaned as the twins hugged her and then scurried off.  “I can’t believe this is not worse than I thought it would be and yet, it’s absolutely worse than I thought it would be.”

    “And yet?”

    “...And yet I’m starting to regret my whole ‘don’t have a kid because I don’t want anyone else to miss me when I’m gone’ thing.”  Senine sighed.  “They’re so awful and cute.  I just wouldn’t be able to watch a kid grow up, you know?  Ugh, anyway.”

    Octy patted her on the back.  “I know, old friend.  We should make haste, however, the twins are at a house without us, and there is a lot of night that we have yet to regret.”

    “Yeah.”  Senine said, and started after the twins.  “Let’s get started regretting the night.”


	9. Episode Nine:  Dr. Lament's House of Science

June reached into her chest and ripped the Penumbra free.  A pair of saw blades on metal arms advanced on her.

Sunny stepped in front of June.  She had an ornate hilt in her hand, which she brought back and then swung forward.  As she did, a chain appeared, followed by a lion-headed flail head, which smashed into the saws with enough force to immediately crush them into slag.

“I’m going to need a boost, here.”  Zuhal said as she backed up.  She had a pair of kama with poisonous green blades that were connected by a long length of chain.  “I can’t exactly envenom metal arms.”  She lashed one out, and acidic venom corroded a clawed hand that reached for her into a twitching mass of broken machinery.  “Okay well I can but it’s not as satisfying.”

“Get behind me.”  June said as she began to play.

ZZ did not need to be asked twice.  She grabbed Sunny by the collar and pulled her back as June’s fingers danced along the strings.

Claws reached for them.  Buzz saws lashed out at them.  The crushing walls came closer and closer.

June finished her song, and a wave of light and dark energy surged through the Penumbra.  It blasted down the hall with enough force to cause the whole house to shake for just a moment.

The hallway was now a twisted path of wreckage.

“Holy shit.”  ZZ said.  “She’s actually good at it.”

Sunny gave a stunned nod.  “Yeah.  Wow.”

June turned to them and smiled.  “Uh.  Thanks.  I’ve had a lot of practice.  The first year, I almost blew us all up...uh...Two or three times?  There’s a learning curve.”

“We know.”  The two future rangers said at the same time.

“intriguing.”  The voice of Dr. Lament said over the intercom.  “the results have been logged.  continue through the house and collect your fellow stellar rangers.  i am fascinated to see how well you will do.”

“I didn’t even know people could use the Penumbra without completely fucking up.”  Zuhal gave June a thumb’s up.

Sunny nudged her in the ribs.  Zuhal pretended not to notice.

“So...your flail?  It’s...”  June looked at the flail and remembered it in the hands of a giant, hitting the ground so hard it caused an earthquake.

“Pretty neat, huh?  I’m more of a dog person--”

“Are we sharing fursonas, now?”

“Shut the FUCK up, ZZ.  But, anyway, yeah, lion flail, pretty cool, right?”

June looked at it, and then smiled at Sunny.  “Yeah.  It suits you.  

 

*****

 

“God this is boring.”  Kismet said as she walked through the sixth identical, decrepit hallway she and her twin had gone through.  “This was supposed to be spooky.  I was promised crappy scares, not boredom.  This would be time better spent necking in a dark hallway.”

“That again?  Maybe it’s time to lay off.”  Destiny replied.  “I respect your wants, but, she’s pretty not into you?  And it’s getting kinda creepy, sis.”

“It’s not getting creepy!  I just need to show her it’s not just a crush, that’s all.”

“It IS creepy.  Kizzy, you have to stop before you drive her away completely!  And it’s a crush, too!  You just like it because she saved me and honestly that was just her job as a Stellar Ranger!  It’s not like you to get all obsessed....unless you want her because she doesn’t want you?”

“It’s not like that.  It’s.  Ugh!  She just needs to get over her stupid trauma and dumb emotions!  Once she’s over that stuff thing’s’ll be fine.”

“That’s not just going to happen if you keep badgering her!  She’s just gonna get creeped out.  And more emotional.  I know you don’t like to hear this, but--”

“Don’t you dare, Dezzy.”

“You need to apologize and back off.”

“No! She needs to get over--”

“Lanessa was awful, Kizzy.”  Destiny frowned.  “Junebug doesn’t even like it when people touch her neck, even when it’s me and Faye.  She hurt everyone here really badly and they won’t just get over it because you want them to.”

“You’re my twin, you’re supposed to have my side!”

“I love you, and I am on your side, which is why I don’t wanna watch you crash and burn and make everything awkward, especially with my girlfriend’s adopted sister.”

“All you care about it making it with June.”  Kismet put her hands on her hips.

“No, I care about no watching you be a total asshole again.”

“Name one other--”

“Karen.”

Kismet paused with her mouth open and a finger raised.  She lowered it.  “Damnit.”

Destiny took her other hand.  “Apologize, and back off.  She’ll like you better that way.  You gotta get the long game down someday, Kizzy.  Come on, let’s find everyone and ditch this place.”

Kismet rolled her eyes.  “I’m never gonna understand this.  Emotions.  People.  Empathy, whatever.”

“You’ll get it.  It takes time.  You just need to play it cool, hothead.”

 

***

 

“I guess it’s atmospheric?”  Auggie said as they wandered through a hall.  “Like, I’m kinda unsettled, like in a movie where they haven’t showed the monster yet.”

Cassie was heavily pouting.  “It was supposed to be fun for all of us!”

“And it totally will be!  When we’re done and making fun of this place.”  Auggie walked backwards in front of Cassie.  “I promise, we’ll--”

Cassie grabbed Auggie and pulled her towards her.  Right as she did this, a blade fell from the ceiling and sliced down behind her.  Auggie turned towards it with wide eyes.

“Um, holy shit?”

“I do not think this is just a haunted house.”  Cassie summoned her scythe.  Auggie summoned her batons, and then pulled Cassie forward, right as another blade slashed down behind her.

Every five feet, now, blades were swinging across the hall.

“Okay.  Well.  I’m not bored anymore, but yikes.”  Auggie watched the blade go by, and then zipped forward.  The blade sliced down right after she had passed through it.  She zipped through the next one, and the next one, moving with perfect precision.

Cassie, meanwhile, rummaged around in her purse, and pulled out a handful of dandelion seeds.  She charged them with green energy and blew them down the hall.  They drifted through the air, and then, with a flash of green, the hall was covered in thick growth that choked and crowded the blade mechanisms so deeply that the blades ground to a halt.

“...You know, I was gonna look for an off switch or something.  Showoff.”  Auggie teased with a big grin on her face.

“As though you, hopping through the blades was NOT showing off?”  Cassie put her hands on her hips.

“Well, yeah!  I want to show off for my bestest friend who I love.”

Cassie blushed and smiled.  “There’s no time to butter me up, I’m afraid.”

“I forgot the butter, anyway.”

“Auggie!  This place is a deathtrap!  We need to find the others!”

“Yes!  Right!  Let’s go!”

 

*****

 

“God, I hope this place is an evil deathtrap or something, this is boring.”  Gemini said as she and Janice strolled through the halls.  “I can’t even catch Levey when she jumps!  This place isn’t even worth our time.”

“It’s...quaint?  I guess?”  Janice glanced around at the decaying walls and the fake cobwebs.  “But yeah, we should bounce and go get some ice cream and watch scary movies or something, this--”

Janice stopped when she saw someone in front of them.  She was very tall, and dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank top.  However, the thing that she immediately noticed was the fact that she was covered in white fur, with a thick, bright blue mane, and a pair of curved horns.  She had fangs, and a nose not unlike a dog’s.

“You’re...A Frostian?”  Janice said as she stopped.  As soon as she stopped, the floor dropped down about five feet, sending Janice and Gemini to the ground.  Spikes extended from the ceiling, which rapidly began to descend on them.

Gemini stayed low and summoned her scythe.  The spiked ceiling met it, and pushed down against it, but did not go any further.  Janice slammed her palms into the ground.  A pillar of volcanic rock splintered the floorboards and pressed into the ceiling.

“I jinxed it.”  Gemini said.

“Yeah, you think??”

There was a bright flash, and a portion of the ceiling burned away, leaving a gap small enough to squeeze through.  Gemini and Janice exchanged a glance, and the two of them rushed for the gap.  Once they were through, they dispelled their magic, and let the ceiling fall with a loud crash.

The Frostian girl, who was probably a couple years older than them, was standing in the hall.  She was holding a large, broad bladed, single edged sword that looked very familiar to the two of them.

“Wait.  That’s...”  Janice looked to the sword, and then to the girl.  “...Hal’s sword?”

Gemini had her scythe in hand, and she pointed it at her.  “What did you do to Hal?  Did you steal his energy?”

“Woah, Gemma, let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“I can tell.  That’s his star powering that sword.”

The Frostian girl eyed Gemini.  She  dropped the sword, and it faded away before it hit the ground.  “People in the past are rude.”

“The...”  Janice blinked.  “Past?”

“Right.  The past.  Like...that girl.  Who said she that confusing stuff about seeing June next year.”  Gemini sighed.  “Time travel.  Of course.”

“It’s not my favorite thing.”  She said.  “But yeah.  My star now.  I’m Wendy.”

“...Wendy?”  Janice asked.

Wendy sighed and rolled her eyes.  “It’s short for Wendigo.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway.”  She looked towards the far door.  “There’s a jerk here.  We need to take care of them.  I was here with two of my teammates, but we got separated.  You’re Gemini.  And...Janice?  I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“That’s us!”  Janice said.  “So, what, we’re famous in the future?”

“Yes.  No time to waste, let’s go.”  Wendy turned and started for the door.

“Well, she’s direct.”  Gemini said as she followed behind her.

“Y-yeah...”  Janice watched her go for a second, and then hurried behind her.

 

*****

 

“It’s so spooky!”  Faye said as she passed yet another empty hall.  “Who knows when something’s gonna happen!  The suspense is killing me!”

Amber rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.  “Like, Faye!  This is like, so lame and boring???  Like, you’re such a horror lightweight!”

“Oh, I know!  I get really scared watching horror movies.  I like happy movies!  With dogs!”

“Like, most dog movies are, like, so sad?”

Faye frowned.  “I know!  It’s the worst, I hate it!  Those poor dogs deserve nice and good lives and not sadness!  The kitties, too, it’s horrible!”

Amber’s smile grew.  She took Faye’s arm.  “Faye, like...you’re so good?”

“Thanks!  You’re great, too!”

“No, like...I don’t, like, know.”  Amber frowned.  “Like...are you, like, happy with you and Destiny and June?”

“Yeah for sure!  I was a bit iffy at first but more girls is always the best!  They’re both great.”

“So like...you’re never, like...jealous when like, June and Destiny are together?”  
“A little, sure!  But it’s less and less as time goes on, I’m also really happy they’re happy!”

“Like...Okay.”  Amber sighed.  “I just, like...I like want, like, something to, like, go right, you know?  Like...like...this year, like, sucks?”

“I know.”  Faye hugged her.  “It sucks and watch out!”

Faye threw Amber down the hall, and then held out her arms.  The walls smashed inwards, and she caught them with her hands.  They pressed inward, and she found her elbows starting to buckle.

Amber reached out, and then ripped the metal out of the pressers.  The rest of the walls began to smash inward, but, all as one, they smashed back outward, hard enough to jam the mechanisms and rip them off the walls.

Faye breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Wow, that was close!  I guess this place is evil!”

“Like, really?”  Amber let the metal drop.  “Like, come on, we’d better find, like, the others.”

 

*****

 

“Ugh.”  Senine said as she walked away from another house.  The twins were cackling and dancing around in front of them as they started for the crosswalk.  “Are we done, yet?  Watching two evil child-monsters turns out to be exhausting.”

“Never fear, Daddy.”  Octy said.  “I’m sure they shall have their fill of candy soon enough!”

As she said that, Vanra said, “Dearest sister, I’ll never ever have enough candy!”

“Indeed, my beloved sister!”  Zanra said.  “We shall gorge on candy forever!”

Senine gave Octy a dry look.  “You were saying?”

He slumped.  “Ah, well, one can dream!  To be honest, I’m also starting to feel a bit of exhaustion.  Just another block, perhaps?”

“Yeah, sure.”  Senine looked over to her.  “By the way, what’s been bothering you?”

“Oh, nothing!  Why would anything be bothering me?”

“C’mon.  It’s just the two of us, and also, those horrible monsters.  It’s the perfect time to angst out and stuff.  Any problems in school?  Problems with Mosstop?”

“Everything’s fine, obviously.  Nothing’s wrong with Cassie, I imagine she will have moved on in the next few months.”

“...I’m sorry, what?  Are you breaking up with her?  Is she breaking up with you?  Did I miss an Octavia memo somewhere?”

“Relationships are not forever.  She will, eventually, realize she would be happier with her best friend, rather than I!  I imagine it’s not long now.”

“...Oh my god, seriously?  Octy, really?  You think she’s going to pick Auggie.  Over you.”

“It’s only a matter of--”

“Why is it that Short Circuit is, of all people the only one who consistently remembers she’s in a relationship?  Seriously.  Octy, you don’t have anything to worry ab--”  Senine stumbled, and shook out her head.  “Why am I so exhausted all of a sudden, I--”

She looked to Octavia, who also looked exhausted.  Her eyes widened, and she looked to the twins, who were walking ahead of them.

“You little jerks.  I’m impressed.”  Senine slipped her badge on and summoned her Pulsar Sledge.  The twins turned around to look at her.

“Why, Daddy, whatever would you mean?”  Zanra batted her eyelashes at Senine.

“Daddy, no!  I thought you weren’t going to punish us!”

“I wasn’t.  But then you got a little too bad.”  Senine frowned.  “Where do you have the conch, anyway?  Is it in the candy bag?”

Vanra and Zanra exchanged looks, and then they both grinned wide, sharp grins.  “Daddy’s so smart, Vanra!”

“Yes, Zanra, she’s the smartest Daddy in the world!”

Octavia swayed on her feet, and braced herself against a stop sign.  “Mommy is...very disappointed in you.”

“Every time we hugged you.”  Zanra reached into her bag and removed the conch.

“Every time we ran past you.”  Vanra pulled a second one out of her bag.

“Every time we held your hands.”

“Every time you gave us gold stars.”

“We took.”

“A little.”

“More.”  They said as one.

“We’re sorry, Daddy and Mommy!  Truly, we’re awful children!”  Zanra said, though her smile did not fade.

“Just dreadful and horrible children!”  Vanra said, her grin growing wider.

“But we have a wonderful responsibility!”

“And you and Mommy are so full of energy, we couldn’t resist!”

“Even if it costs us free candy.”

“Well.”  Senine took a step forward.  “Sorry, I’m going to be taking that back.”

“You?”  Vanra said with a grin.

“WIthout your energy?  Daddy is so brave!  Horribly stupid, like most humans, but so brave, Vanra!”

“Indeed, Zanra!  Daddy is the bravest and the dumbest!  We will eat her if she attacks us!”

“Even though I’d hate to kill Daddy, Vanra.”

“It’s just so awful to even think of, Zanra!”

Senine looked between the two of them, and then at Octavia, and sighed.  “Okay, okay, you win.  But this?  Is over.  No more trick or treating for bad girls.  The deal’s still on, though.  You can’t harass us directly for a while, now.  Take your candy and your stolen energy and go to your room.”

“Oh, no!  Vanra, how awful!  We got punished, anyway!”

“It’s horrible, Zanra, but...”

“Fair is fair, Mommy and Daddy!  Fair is fair!”

“We will take your energy.”

“And our candy.”

“And leave you alone fooor....”

“Fourteen earth days.”

“Exactly.”  They finished together.

“Deal.”  Senine said.  “Now get out of here.”

Vanra and Zanra both waved goodbye, and then disappeared in flashes of light and dark.

Senine turned to Octy and put an arm around her.  “Come on, let’s get some food in you.  I hope the girls thank us for this.”

 

*****

 

Kara surrounded both herself and Avril with a hard light barrier, right as steel darts collided into the barrier.   The walls had opened up to reveal a honeycomb of dart throwers, which was now rapidly peppering the two of them with darts.

Avril lifted her hands, and then swept them out.  Waves formed, and then slammed into the holes.  She extended her arms, and the water burst out from inside, shattering the dart throwers.

Kara lowered the hard light barrier.  “Wow, and here I thought we’d just spend the whole time uncomfortably talking about Kizzy and Veracity.”

“Yeah.”  Avril summoned her sword and walked for the far door.

“We were talking in circles, anyway, it’s probably for the best.”  Kara summoned her staff and opened the far door.  “Alright, so, let’s get to Janice and the others, she’s probably already got this whole thing figured out.”

 

*****

 

“So.”  Gemini said.  “I’m stumped.  I have no clue who this Dr. Lament person is.”  
“Y-yeah.  Me either.”  Janice said.  She looked back over to Wendy and blushed.

“Jan?  Theories?”

“Nope.”

Gemini stared at her, and then grinned.  She said, in a whisper, “Are you checking her out?”

“What no of course not I’m definitely not checking her out I’m mostly straight and oh hey look Wendy found a pit trap let’s focus on not getting impaled and stop interrogating me.”

“Oh.  My god.”

 

*****

 

“interesting.”  Dr. Lament said.  They were a small figure, hidden in the shadows and glare of the main control room, save for the four lenses of their glasses.  “they have all proceeded past many of my traps.”

“So.  Doc.”  Puck was on the short side, and looked mostly human.  Their eyes were pale yellow, and their skin was sallow to the point of being nigh-lifeless, and was a distinctly inhuman shade on top of it.  Their teeth were all perfectly flat and also the exact same shape.  They wore a red hoodie with a white exclamation point on it and a big white skirt.  “Why ain’t you doing anything with those two?”  They pointed to a screen that had Destiny and Kismet on it.

“they are the control group.”

“Control groups are boring boring BORING!”  Puck whined.

“quiet.”  Dr. Lament turned towards them.  “i am experimenting for a purpose.  not performing random acts of chaos.  you are here by my charity.”

“Doc doc DOC!!!!”  Puck said, bouncing up and down.  “Let me kill one of the groups!  That won’t hurt the science, right?  Right???”

Dr. Lament looked at the screens.  They looked at the screen where Wendy, Gemini, and Janice were walking through a room of shattered skeleton-bots, and then, at the room where June, Sunny, and ZZ were destroying a large mechanical spider.  Their lenses shined as June played a hard riff on her guitar, and blowed away half of its legs.  Sunny slammed her flail into its body with so much force that it was knocked onto its back.  Zuhal scraped her kama against its steel hide, and the acidic venoms lacing them burned right into it.

“the two groups with extra members require extra strain.  go and kill the frostian girl, the death star, and the magma star, if you can.”

“T-the...”  Puck looked at the screen.  “I mean, I want to fight Nemesis!  I want to crush her!  I have a bone to pick with her.  Well, I will have had a bone.  To club her to death with.”

“no.”

Puck grinned widely.  “What if I do it anyway?”

“nagina kills you.”

“Who--”

There was a kama with a poisonous green blade pressed to Puck’s neck.

“my assistant.”  Dr. Lament looked back up to the screens.  “it seems one of the future stellar rangers has the same star as her.  curious.  i would watch them fight.  if you want to kill then put the twin, the volcanic heart, and the frostian to the test.”

Puck looked at the screen, and then their toothy grin returned.  “Fine!  I’ll destroy them!  No more Stellar Ranger Ember.”

 

*****

 

“So.”  Sunny said as they reached the door past the mechanical spider.  “How close to the end do you think we are?”

“There isn’t.  We’ll have to eat you.”

“Shut UP ZZ.”

June opened the door.  “We’re about three deathtraps away from me just blowing a hole in the ceiling, but...I wouldn’t want to destroy a wall, and also, my friend behind it.”

“That’s real reasonable of you, June.”  Sunny followed June through the door and said, “Huh.”

The next room was a large, vast coliseum.  The girls had stepped out, into the dirt floor of the arena.  As they did, the doors shut behind them, and then, a stone panel slid over them, leaving the door smooth and featureless.

A roar of a crowd came from the seats in the coliseum, and then, all of them caught fire, surrounding the arena in flame.  

ZZ was about to say something, and then a steel cylindrical column shot up from the middle of the arena.   Steel blades protruded from it, and the column began to spin rapidly.  Lines of nozzles shot up at regular intervals from the ground, splitting the arena into five parts.  These nozzles lit up, and created walls of flame that lasted five seconds, turned off for one second, and then repeated.  Five more columns shot up, at the center of each section of the arena, and also began to spin rapidly as spinning blades unfolded from them.  The entire arena then began to turn in a circle.

“...Well, fuck.”

“Somehow, ZZ.”  Sunny said as she summoned her flail.  “Somehow, this is your fault.”

“You’re probably not wrong.”

June looked around.  “Stay alert.  We’re probably going to have to fight...something in here.  Oh.  Like her.”

She was wearing a black cloak, over what looked to be tight, sleek, grey armor that reflected bright green off the light.  She wore a sleek, long gasmask with tinted lenses.  She had a long, serpentine tail in place of legs.

As they watched, she summoned a pair of kama with poisonous green blades, attached by a length of chain.

“nagina.  when you are ready.” Came Dr. Lament’s voice from the walls.

“Oh, really?”  ZZ sighed.  “Really.  Really?”

“...So.  June.”  Sunny began.

“Yeah?”

“How well can you hold your breath?”

“Uh, not well?  I’m better than I was but I’m not very athletic.”

“Oh.”  Sunny put a hand on June’s shoulder.  She felt something surge through her, and she immediately felt stronger and more physically fit.  “Well, now you’re better at it.”

“Why--”

Nagina pushed off her tail like a spring, and landed right in front of the Stellar Rangers.  She hissed under her gasmask, and a toxic, green cloud spread out from her in all directions.

“Oh.”

ZZ rushed for her, and lashed out with both of her kama.  Nagina dodged back, and threw her kama at her.  ZZ knocked it away and shouted, “The ONE thing I can poison in here, and she’s immune!  AND wearing a gasmask!”

June started to play a song.  She was holding her breath but it did not take long for her to start to be desperate for a breath.  The poisonous fog stung her eyes and burned her skin.

Sunny took a deep breath and blew hard enough that June’s clothing flapped in the breeze, and she lost her footing for a moment.  The fog was blown away.

Nagina’s tail came around and slammed into ZZ, knocking her towards one of the whirling pillars of blades.  June’s eyes widened and she let loose a blast of light and dark.  It smashed through the pillar right before ZZ would have hit it, and caused it to explode and fly away in pieces.  ZZ flew over the still-spinning stump and hit the dirt-covered ground rather than bladed death.

June started to play another song.  Nagina slithered towards ZZ, but paused to look at June.  She started to twirl one of her kama around.

Sunny stepped in front of her and summoned her flail.  “Don’t even try it, snakebutt.”

“Three out of ten.”

“STOP RATING MY QUIPS ZZ.”

“No.  Keep her busy.”  Zuhal hopped to her feet and darted through the wall of fire in the split-second it was down.

“Z--”  Sunny did not have time to react.  Nagina lunged towards her, and then under her heavy swipe with the flail.  She shot her kama right towards June.

June changed songs, and the kama bounced off her shield.  Sunny brought her flail back around, and Nagina sprung back, out of the way of it just in time.

“Okay.  Brute force isn’t gonna cut it, got it.”  Sunny glowed red and gold, and brought her flail back.  “Time to try a new approach.”

Nagina stayed low, and then rushed again.  Sunny brought up her flail for a heavy swipe.  Nagina feinted to the right and came in to slash at her left side.  Sunny sidestepped and smashed out a heavy, quick punch that Nagina was not quite fast enough to dodge.  She was lifted into the air, and thrown right through one of the walls of fire.

“I’m not lucky enough that that killed her.”  June said, and started up a different song.

“Me either.”

There was a sickening crack from the other side of the wall of fire, and Nagina darted through the wall of fire again with no harm.  She lashed out her kama at range, again and again.  June changed her song, and a protective barrier covered the both of them, though she could not keep her offensive song up.

Zuhal stood and twirled both of her kama around.  She lashed them out both at once.  One sank into the middle column, and one sank into the column that was in the center of this section of the arena.  Zuhal released the chain and jumped back.

The chain immediately pulled taut, and a horrible grinding noise could be heard from underneath the arena.  The arena stopped spinning, except in sputtering spurts.

Nagina looked over to it, narrowed her eyes, and shot forward, towards ZZ.  Sunny saw this and ran out of the shield June had erected.  She pulled back her flail, and lashed it out.  Nagina ducked under it without looking, and turned back to Sunny for a moment.

The whole arena jerked again, and the grinding noise went louder, before a heavy SNAP shook the ground, and the arena drifted to a stop.  The columns were both pulled at a pronounced angle, and the ones that weren’t entangled also stopped moving.  The flame walls sputtered, and went out.  The floor was now tilted sharply down.

Nagina looked around, and then slithered away as Sunny charged her.  As she charged, however, ZZ slipped behind Nagina, and buried both of her kama into her back.  She let out a pained hiss, and summoned a cloud of toxic mist around her.  Sunny stumbled away from it, and ZZ slashed into it, but her kama hit nothing.

When the mist disappeared, there was only greenish-blue blood where Nagina had been to signify she was ever there.

“..Okay.”  Sunny dispelled her flail.  “That was actually pretty clever.”

“I know.  I’m clever.”  ZZ dispelled her kama.  “Kind of a big windup time, huh?”

“Yeah, sorry.”  June rested her guitar around her neck.  “Anyway, let’s keep going.  That felt kind of climactic?  If this place follows any sort of rules.”

“Right.  Big fight in weird arena.”  Sunny glanced around.  “There.”  She pointed to a place where a panel had fallen off the wall and revealed a hollow space behind it.

“Alright.”  June said as she walked towards it.  “Let’s find my friends and your friend and get out of here.”

 

*****

 

“Okay.”  Auggie said as she bashed a bedsheet ghost full of weapons with both batons.  “Why’s any of this even happening, though???  This isn’t the twins, they’d be giggling at us, already.  Who the heck is Dr. Lament?”

“I’ve never heard that name, before.  Perhaps they are an agent of Despair, like the Puppetrix?”  Cassie walked forward and opened the door to the next room, and she bumped right into the teal-haired girl from earlier.

“Oh!”  She said as she looked at Cassie.  Her eyes were more yellow, now, than orange.  There were a few awkward moments, during which they stared at each other, until she said.  “Hey!  Have...oh, wow, you’re here too, okay.  Have you seen a tall buff girl and a tall skinny girl?  The skinny one’s in the punkest hijab you’ve ever seen?  Or a Frostian girl with what’s probably a really familiar sword?”

“I.”  Cassie began, and then stopped.  “You.”

The girl gave her a wide-eyed stare.  “Aw, heck.  Okay sorry gotta go bye!”

She disappeared in a teal flash.

“Cassie?”  Auggie rushed over to her.  “Sweetie, are you okay?”

“We..”  Cassie looked like she was in a daze.  “I, yes.  Let’s keep going.  Keep an eye out for her, please?”

“Yeah, sure!  Who was she?”

“N-no one.  I just thought....”  Cassie paused.  “It’s nothing.  Let’s keep going.”

 

*****

 

“It’s _not_ weird.”  Janice said in a hushed whisper.  She and Gemini were following behind Wendy as they made their way through a hallway of smashed and melted robot skeleton warriors.

“No, no, it’s fine.”  Gemini had a very smug look.  “I just never pegged you as a furry is all.”

“I’m not--”  Janice’s voice started to get higher, and then she caught herself and lowered it.  “I’m not a furry.  She’s just attractive!  I don’t get attracted to many girls--”

“Who aren’t anthros.”

“I am...look she looks mostly human!  Just fur and pointy ears and horns.”

“Oh, totally.  She’s pretty furry.”

“Gemma.  I’m not a furry.  She’s...she doesn’t even have a pointy snout, just--”

“A cold wet nose you want to shove somewhere wa--”

“Stop it!”

Wendy glanced back at them, and then looked forward.  “I can hear you.  I have pointy ears, as you said.  It’s nice you think I’m attractive.  You aren’t a furry.  You might be a xenophile.”

Gemini started to laugh.  Janice gave her a blushing glare.  “I’m sorry, Wendy.  This isn’t the time or place.”

“No.  But it’s flattering.”  Wendy turned back to the task at hand.  “And you shouldn’t let Ms. Schumacher shame you for it.”

Janice beamed.  Gemini rolled her eyes.

“No one should be shamed for--”  She stopped and held out her arm.

“Wendy!  Wendigo.”  Puck was standing in front of them, grinning widely.  “Fancy seeing you here!  For the last time.”

“Puck.  The last of the Witch’s servants.”

“Oh, I’m under new management.  But you know that.  The Revenant is _way_ better than that stupid old Witch ever was.”  Puck gestured, and they were holding a polearm with a burning, volcanic haft, and a broad, flaming, swordlike blade that did not reflect light.  “Oh, this is a nice combination!  Perfect for killing all three of you!”

Gemini stared at them for a moment, and then grinned.  She stepped forward, and summoner her scythe.  Puck looked at her and took a step back.

“Ms. Schumacher.  Stay back.”  Wendy summoned her sword.  “They’re more dangerous than they look.”

“Oh, I’m not too worried.”  Gemini pointed her scythe at Puck.  Puck shrank away from her, holding out their weapon.  “Oh, you know, don’t you?  You know what’s about to happen.”

“Gemma?”  Janice summoned her mace.

“It’s time.”  Gemini said, and then rushed forward.

Wendy made an annoyed noise and muttered, “She never changes” and then rushed after her.

Gemini lashed out, and Puck blocked the blow with the shaft of their weapon.  Gemini twirled the scythe around her and sliced down at Puck’s ankle, but Puck hopped over it and summoned a wave of phantasmal lava, which washed towards Gemini.  Her eyes widened, but a beam of plasma shot through the wave and into Puck’s side.  They stumbled back and hit the wall, and then lifted their weapon like a javelin.  Plasma gathered around it.

“I beat it.  I outlasted it, nothing can kill me!  Nothing nothing nothing!!!!”  Puck shouted with a maniacal gleam in their eye.

Before they could throw the weapon, however, a plume of lava shot up from beneath them.  Puck scurried back, and dropped their weapon.  It vanished before it hit the ground,

Gemini charged again, scythe high.  Puck summoned a scythe made of volcanic rock and met the charge.  It began to glow with plasma, and Gemini was forced back.

“Ha!  See!”  Puck swiped the scythe forward, keeping Gemini and Wendy at range.  “I’m immortal!”

“Puck has the powers of any nearby Hearts.”  Wendy summoned a ball of plasma in her hand and threw it at them.  They smashed it with their scythe, and charged forward.

“I noticed!”

Janice smashed into them with the force of a volcanic boulder.  Puck was knocked back, but landed on their feet.

“Nice power there friend!  I’ll have to kill your friends with it.”  Puck stomped their foot down, and Gemini grabbed Wendy and jumped out of the way before the lava plume could shoot out from under her.

“Hahahaha!”  Puck summoned a bladed mace that glowed with unearthly fire.  “This is so much fun!  I told you, you can’t--”

Something slashed out, and severed Puck’s arm from their body.  It, and their weapon, fell to the ground.

“Gemini, now!”

Gemini did not question her good luck.  She darted forward, and buried her scythe in their chest.

Puck looked at her, and then down at the scythe.  “It’s not...it’s not fair.  I beat...I beat my fate.”

“Sorry.”  Gemini said, and then ripped her scythe back.  Puck slumped to the ground, and then boiled away into nothing.  Their clothes laid in a pile, inert, on the floor.  “No one gets to escape their end.”

Janice and Gemini both looked up, and saw the teal-haired girl, again.  She was holding a scythe that had a haft that looked like a minute hand, and a blade that looked like an hour hand.  Her eyes were a greenish-yellow, now.  “Wendy!  Hey!”

“Cordelia.”  Wendy gave a relieved sigh.  “Where are the others?”

“Close.  Come on, it won’t be long now.”  Cordy started to walk away.

Gemini ran up to her.  “Hey, wait, who--”

Gemini paused, and stared at her, eyes wide.  “Wait a second.  You..”

“Haha yikes okay Wendy time to go, we still need to pick up Mona after this.”  Cordy grabbed Wendy, and disappeared in a flash of teal.

“...Gemma?”  Janice said.  “What was that about?”

“That’s.”  Gemini looked back to Janice.  “That’s Cassie’s daughter.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, it’s _what_???”

“Come on.  We need to find her before she leaves.”

“Why?”

“Stop asking come on!”

Gemini grabbed Janice’s hand and pulled her along as they ran through the door and closer to the “haunted” “house’s” exit.

 

*****

June broke through the final door, and found herself in a large control room, with a wall covered in monitors.  Sunny and ZZ stepped in behind her, their weapons summoned.  Both Sunny and ZZ were glowing with a red and gold aura.

“ah yes.  the penumbra.”  A figure in shadow said.  “while the test was sullied by this temporal anomaly, very useful data was gathered.”

“What’s going on, why did you do this?”  June asked.  Her fingers just above above the Penumbra’s strings.

“to gather data.  i have stated this before.”

“Where’s Puck??”  Sunny asked.

“dead.  the one with the star of death extinguished its life force.  good riddance.  it was an annoyance at best.  continuing to have it around would have disrupted the experiment even more.”

“Huh.  That’s a weird prophecy twist.”  ZZ said.  “I like it.”

“Thank the stars for that, then.  Anyway, you aren’t gonna get away with--”

“Yeah, they are.”  Cordy said from where she had suddenly appeared.  Her eyes were green, now, fading to blue.  “Come on, girls.  We need to go pick up your little sister and make sure the Revenant gets pulled back with us.  Oh!  Hey, June!  I don’t know you yet.  Next year.  Right, I remember.  Sorry, it’s been a _day_.”

“Uh.  Okay?”

“Cordy, what?  We can’t just--”

“Sunny, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but Dr. Lament’s one aggressive move from teleporting out of here.  We have more important stuff to do, come on.  Also, the Schumachers are both looking for me, right now, which means I am ZZ blurting out the answer to one awkward question away from maybe not existing.  We have to go.  Your sister needs you.”

“I’d do it, too.”

“I know, ZZ.”

Sunny sighed.  “No offense, but I hate time travel.”

“None taken, after today.  See you later, June!”

“Uh...huh?”

Cordy, Wendy, ZZ, and Sunny all vanished in a flash of teal.

“time control is a fascinating power.  but it’s not the point of this exercise.  nagina are you prepared?”

Nagina was suddenly next to the shadowy figure of Dr. Lament.

June narrowed her eyes.  “Wait.  Why did you do this?  Not just the data, why do you need the data?  Who are you?”  Her hand was above the strings of her guitar.

“my name is dr. lament.  and i am an agent of despair.”

June slammed her hand down, and in that same moment, Dr. Lament, Nagina, and all the monitors and equipment disappeared.  The entire building shook with the force of the shockwave June unleashed.

June ran over to where Dr. Lament had been, but there was nothing remaining.  She sighed, dispelled the Penumbra, and kicked a rock.

“Junebug!”  Destiny shouted as she ran through the final door.  Kismet trailed behind her.

“Dezzy!”  June ran over to her and hugged her.

“So, uh.”  Destiny grinned at her.  “I take it your trip through wasn’t as boring as ours?”

 

*****

 

“Well.”  Senine said.  All of the Rangers had reconvened at Cassie and Gemini’s home, and were crashing in her room to varying degrees of flatness.  “This wasn’t a great Halloween.  Sorry, Mosstop.  We’ll throw you another party next week, we’ve got two weeks to burn until the twins start harassing us again.”

“Hm?”  Cassie said from where she was leaning against Octy, who had long since passed out from lack of energy.  “Oh.  Yes.  If you think that’s wise.”

June was sitting in the windowsill, with Faye resting on top of her, and Destiny resting against the wall below her and holding her trailing hand.  “I guess...at least we know there’s a future?  And that it seems like it’s in good hands, Sunny and ZZ were both really good at what they did.”

“I think it’s also nice that Stellos’s heart went to someone good!”  Faye said, peering up at June.  “I’m happy for it!”

“Me, too.  And Nagina’s? I guess?  She tried to kill me, I don’t really have anything to judge her with beyond that.”

“Wow, Junie.”  Auggie said from her spot on Cassie’s bed, between Cassie and Amber.  “Only that?”

“You know what I mean.”  June looked out the window.  The autumn sky was clear and full of stars, and a mostly full moon hung overhead.

“Why’d we get the boring route, anyway?”  Kismet asked.  “I would’ve loved some deathtraps to own.”

“You were the control.”  Veracity said.  She was leaning against the far wall and looking at her cards.

“Hey!  Wait a minute!”  Kismet pointed at her.  “You knew this was gonna happen!  That’s why you didn’t come out!”

“Wait.”  Destiny stood up more straight.  “You did!  You absolutely did.  Why didn’t you warn us, you jerk!?”

“Eh.”  Veracity shrugged.  “You all lived.”

“And that’s my compassionate girlfriend, ladies and most-of-the-time-but-not-now gentlemen.”  Senine said as she gestured to Veracity.

“Well, like...”  Amber said as she touched her neck.  “At least, like, those twins aren’t going to, like, break into our rooms and, like, threaten us?  For two weeks?”

“Yeah.”  June said.  “But...Why don’t they just kill us in our sleep?  Why play all these games?  They’re obviously smarter than they look--they knew we underestimated them, and they used our expectations against us.  What’re they even doing?”

“I...”  Janice began.  “I have a theory.  But...I need some more data, first.  But if I’m right...we’re in really big trouble.”

 

*****

 

“Eighteen percent!”  Zanra jumped up and down.  The lights had expanded to almost a fifth of the way around vault.  Some of that was sky blue, but most of it was black and purple.  “Daddy has so much in him!  I’m so happy, dearest sister!  We’re getting so close.”

“It’s not fast enough, my beloved sister.”  Vanra frowned.  “We need to open the vault soon.  I can’t bear it to not be open!”

“Me either!  Oh, stupid agreement with stupid humans!”

“We’ll endure it, my darling sister!”  Vanra hugged her sister.  “We’ve endured it for millennia.  We will continue to endure it.”  She looked to the vault and trailed her hand down it.

“My perfect and brilliant sister, it’s so hard!  I loathe being apart, from you.  From...”

“We won’t.  Ever.”  Vanra held her tighter.  “Ever ever ever.  No matter how pesky those Stellar Rangers are, no human will best us again.  We’ll devour them whole if they try.”

“And feed what remains to the door.”

They looked to each other, and began to laugh as one.

 


	10. Episode Ten:  Family Ties

Avril slashed forward, and then retreated, raising her cutlass in a block.  She twirled and summoned another Wave Cutlass, slashing it out at the air in front of her before retreating, dispelling the off-hand sword, and darting forward with another jab.

“You’re good.”  Kismet said as she walked into Stellar Ranger HQ’s training room.  “Do you want a sparring partner?”

Avril stopped, and looked over at her.  “...I suppose.”

“I promise.”  Kismet held up her hands.  “No flirting.  I just wanna hang out, that’s all.”

“Hm.”  Avril stepped into a defensive stance.

“Plus, fire against water, how can I resist?”  Kismet summoned her axes and stepped up in front of Avril.  “Whenever you’re ready!”

Avril shifted her weight back, and then pressed forward with a slash.  Kismet blocked the sword with both of her axes and then deflected it to the side as she stepped forward and put a foot behind Avril’s leg.  She tried to shove her over, but Avril moved with the shove, and slipped back into a defensive stance as Kismet slashed down with both of her axes.

Avril dodged back, and then sprang forward with a heavy, one-handed strike.  Both of them were knocked back when their weapons struck each other.

“Ha!  This is great!”  Kismet grinned, and then slid her foot back behind her.  As she did, sparks danced from under her toes.  Her axes lit up with bright flame.

Avril summoned a second sword.  Both blades were now surrounded by a thick mist.

They lunged at the same time.  Both of them were a flurry of blades and magic, and great gouts of steam fired off from their melee.  Every time Avril attacked, Kismet blocked and countered, surging like a great bonfire as every attack burned hotter and hit harder.  Every time Kismet attacked, Avril dodged and moved with the attack, flowing like water around her opponent.

Eventually, the steam was so thick that the only sign of the combatants in it was the flash of magic steel against magic steel.

There was a heavy flash, and a pair of axes and one of the swords came careening out of the cloud.  The steam cleared, and Kismet was on the ground, a sword at her throat, with Avril standing on her chest and pointing it down.

“...Wow.”

Avril banished her sword, and then stepped off of Kismet.  She kneeled down and offered a hand.

Under normal circumstances, Kismet would never have accepted another’s hand.  Now, however, she did it without question, and allowed Avril to help her up.

“You were...amazing!  Really incredible, how’d you ever learn to fight like that?”

“I train.  A lot.  Early on, with the Savage Stars, I lost a key battle and it almost cost Senine her life.  I’ve been trying to keep that from happening again ever since.”

“Well damn, girl, I just like fighting.  You really got that whole hero thing down, huh?”

Avril shrugged.  “I just don’t want to let my friends down, that’s all.”

“If you keep fighting like that, you won’t, trust me.”  Kismet smiled at her.  “Also, hey, I wanted to say, I’m sorry that I’ve made you uncomfortable.  I thought..I don’t know, you’re cool.  And, wow, you really do butch well.”

“Thank you.  For the apology, and the compliment.  I have to wear a skirt at work, it’s awful.  And I don’t know if I’m cool.  I’m awkward and shy, I think people mistake that for being cool but I’m honestly anxious, all the time.  I don’t think I’m what you want me to be.”

Kismet looked up at her, and smiled.  “No, you’re cool.  I’ve talked to Junebug and Faye, I heard you went toe to toe with a juiced up Star Vampire, like, solo.  While half dead.  And you managed to keep yourself from getting too hurt.”

“That was Cassie’s doing.”  Avril said.  “We all got hurt, she kept us up.”

“Just take the complement, Avril.  You’re cool, and it’s coming from a rock star, so you know it’s legit.”  Kismet nudged her.  “Anyway, I need to head back, Dezzy and Kara want to hang out or get dinner or something.  And...I know it’s a sore subject, but, if you ever wanna try dating, ask me, okay?  I promise I’ll take it as easy as you want.”  Kismet leaned up, and gave Avril another kiss on the cheek.  “See you later, cool girl.”

Avril watched her go, and touched her cheek.  She felt her heart began to warm, and then she remember how it felt to kiss Lynneth.  She remembered how that had also made her heart warm, and she took a moment to keep herself from breaking down completely.

She moved to the wall, and to the bench her backpack was on.  She lifted her phone from it.

Her eyes widened, and she let out a curse, and ran out the door.

 

*****

 

“Sorry!”  Avril said as she walked into the apartment.  “I’m so, so sorry, I’ll start baking right now it can still be done on time if I--”

Avril stopped when she saw a middle aged woman in a suit and skirt, sitting across from June and Julius, who were on the couch.

“Avril, hey!”  Julius said.  He was smiling, but there was a nervous quality to his voice and face.  “Could you come over for a sec?  This is Miss Partridge, from Child and Family Services.  She’s come to talk about the adoption.”

Avril stopped dead in her tracks, and then rushed over to the woman and offered her hand.  “Hello, yes, sorry, I was working out.”

June smiled at her, and made a smudging motion at her cheek, but Avril did not notice.

Miss Partridge had a kind face, which, Avril suspected, was a requirement for the job, and she stood and took Avril’s hand, giving it a firm shake.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Avril.  Do you need time to have something to eat?  A shower?  We can wait as long as we need.”

“No, I’m fine.”  She sat down next to June, whose nervous smile matched her brother’s.

“What were you going to bake?”

“Pan de muerto, it’s for the day of the dead.”  Avril said.  “I wanted to do Day of the Dead, for June and Julius’s parents.  I was going to do it today, but, I lost track of time.  I had a morning shift, and then I wanted to work out, and a friend came by and I got distracted.”

“Oh, who?”  June asked.

“Kismet.  It was fun.”

“Kismet is a friend of yours?”  Miss Partridge was taking notes down in her book.

“Yeah, she’s my girlfriend’s twin sister.”  June said.  June looked at Avril, and made the smudging motion again.  Avril did not understand why. “She’s pretty cool.”

Miss Partridge wrote a bit more furiously.  “And, Avril, were you asked to bake this bread?”

“No.  I volunteered on the entire thing.  We were going to drive out to the cemetery with Leah and then have a picnic in a park nearby--that was Julius’s idea.  And I wanted to bring pan de muerto.  I like doing Mexican things, because I wasn’t ever allowed to have my culture with...”

“The Craigs?  They’ve rescinded all custody from you, which, I’m very sorry about that, Avril.  It’s horrible how some people can be to their children.”  Miss Partridge wrote a few more things down.  “And they did this because...”

“I’m gay.”

Miss Partridge sighed.  “I wish that wasn’t a story I’ve heard, before.  Alright, well, I’ve already spoken to June and Julius.  Avril, would you mind it if we spoke in your room, privately. for a bit?”

Avril went pale.  “Um.  Is that...necessary?”

Miss Partridge raised an eyebrow.  “Is there a problem with talking privately?”

“No, I just....I’m really private about my room.  Can we do it somewhere else?”

She smiled and nodded.  “Of course.  Julius, can we borrow your room for a moment?”

“Yeah, sure.  Take all the time you need.  I’m going to call Leah and get everything set.”  Julius stood up and pulled out his phone as he started to pace.

“Hey, did you want me to get the oven ready?  And get your dough out and stuff?”  June asked.

Avril gave a relieved sigh.  “If you could.  Here.”  She pulled out her phone and sent June a link.  “Do as much preparation as you feel comfortable with, I’ll take care of the rest.”

Miss Partridge and Avril moved into Julius’s room.  Julius had the smallest room in the apartment, and his walls were covered in an odd combination of modern abstract art, landscapes, football posters, and astronomical posters. Miss Partridge and Avril sat on different ends of the bed.

“You can speak candidly here, Avril.  Is there a reason you’re so private about your room?”

“When I wasn’t private, my parents threw me out of the house.  I don’t like people seeing my things.  That’s all.  Julius sees it when he cleans but he doesn’t tell anyone.  My friend Senine sees it sometimes, but, I trust her.”

“Senine, that’s an odd name.”

“She made it up.”

Miss Partridge scratched that down.  “Are you being made to work?”

“No.  I’m working so I don’t feel like I’m a leech.”

“Have June or Julius called you a leech, Avril?”

She shook her head.  “Absolutely not.  June and Julius have done nothing except tell me I don’t need to work, but, I don’t feel right not giving back.”

“And this is the diner that Julius told me about, I imagine?”

Avril nodded.

“Are you currently in a relationship?”

“It’s complicated.”

Miss Partridge scribbled that down.  “Could you please elaborate?”

“I’d rather not.  I like some girls, some girls like me, I have issues that don’t let me date.”  Avril said.  “That’s all.”

“And Leah...Vember?  How’s she?”

Avril pulled a knee up to her chest.  “She’s great.  I like her a lot.”

“Do you have...hobbies?  Friends?”

“Yes.”

“...Could you tell me about them?”

“I like fencing.  I like my friends.  I like swimming.”  Avril shrugged.  “I’m happy and I’m more or less content.”

“And you’re being honest we me?  If something’s wrong, I want you to be able to tell me.”

“I’m being honest.”  Avril looked her in the eye.  “I want to stay here, with Julius and June.”

“Well...I’d prefer it if Julius was married, but, he seems to have done a good job with June so far.”  Miss Partridge scribbled down a few more things.  “Now, last year, both you and June had an extensive absence from school.  Can you tell me about that?”

“It was a trip for the astronomy club.”  Avril said.

“Doing what, exactly?”

“Astronomy club things.  We went into the country and mapped the stars.  We did all of our homework.  We watched a meteor shower.”

“And this took three months?”  Miss Partridge asked, incredulously.

“Yes, it did.  Is there a problem?  All of our homework got done.  Our grades didn’t drop.”

“Alright, alright.  You don’t need to be defensive with me, Avril, I’m here to help.  Now,”  She flipped through her notes.  “June recently got into a fight at school, can you tell me about that?”

“There was a bigot, harassing our friend Gemini.  She defended Gemini.”  Avril looked her in the eye.  “They are good people, and I want to stay with them.”

Miss Partridge nodded.  “Alright.  And you’re certain you’re not in a relationship?”  
“Why is that important?”

“You have a bright red lipstick print on your cheek.”

Avril’s cheeks went dark red.  “Oh.”  She pulled her hand up and rubbed the lipstick off.

Miss Partridge smiled at her.

“I still don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Alright.  I need to do some more asking around, but, I think we can arrange you staying here.  In two years, you can live wherever you want, after all.”  She pulled out a card and handed it to Avril.  “Call me if there are any changes, or if you just need someone to talk to.”

“Okay.  Thank you.”

“You’re a good kid, Avril.  I hope this family works out for you.”

 

*****

 

Faye was laying on the floor of the living room.  “Aw, I wanted to go with Junie and her family!  Even Leah’s going, I wanna meet her parents!”

“Faye, I hate to break it to you.”  Senine was laying across the couch with a game controller.  “They’re dead.”

“I know!  Just...I wanna visit their grave!”

“You want to be considered family, like Leah was, you mean.”

Faye pouted.  She nodded.

“Don’t worry about it.  Leah and Julius are old enough that Leah’s seriously considering marrying him.  Plus, Leah’s so goddamn busy all the time, she barely even has time to see Julius, anymore.”

Faye was quiet for a moment.  When she spoke, excitement creeped into her voice.  “If Leah marries Julius, does that mean we’ll live with Junie and Avril???”

“...”  Senine paused her game and stared into the distance for a moment.  “Oh.  Huh.  You know, I hadn’t even thought of that.  I guess?  Holy shit.”

“That would be so neat!  They could move in!  Or we could get a bigger house!  With a yard!  For a dog!”

“Slow down there.”  Senine looked to Faye.  “Let’s go to ‘someone proposes’ first.  Also, who should I romance?  I’m having trouble picking.”

“Uuuuh, I like her!  She’s really nice!”

“Yeah, she’s NICE but is nice who I want to romance?  I mean, I’m playing a necromancer.”

“Yes!”  Faye said.  “Because she’s pretty and nice and those are both good things!  Plus the other girl is...kind of racist against elves?  And she is an elf and that’s really sad!”

“Okay, but, she’ll be less sad when she’s dating me.  Because this is fiction, and the opposite of the normal thing can happen, sometimes.”

“Oh oh oh!  What about the sword lady?  She seems cool!”

Senine sighed.  “Sorry, she’s straight.”

“What??  Oh no!  I mean she can be whatever sexuality she wants to be but....”

“Right?  It’s so lame.”  The doorbell rang, and Senine paused the game and started to sit up, but Faye was already on her feet. 

“I’ll get it!”  Faye said, and rushed to the door.  She opened it, and said, “Hello!  Vember residence!  Can I help you?”

Miss Partridge smiled at her.  “Hello, I’m looking for Faye Burrey?”

“I’m Faye!  Hi, what can I do for you?”

“My name is Ruth Partridge.  I’d like to talk to you about your situation, if you have time?  I’m from the department of child safety and services.”

“Oh!  Sure!  Come in, do you want, uhh...soda?  Water?  Milk?”  Faye opened the door wider to allow Miss Patridge to enter.

She smiled and entered the house.  “Thank you, but no.  Is there a place we can talk privately?”

“Sure!”  Faye led Miss Partridge through an open doorway, into the dining room.  She pulled out a chair for her and sat down.

“Are you the only person home right now?”

“Oh, no!  My sister’s here, too!  Wow, it’s so neat to say that?  That I have a sister!”

“Mhm.”  Miss Partridge began to record something in her notebook.  “And is this Brunhilde or Leah?”

“Brun...Oh!  You mean Senine.  It’s Senine, Leah’s out with her boyfriend right now!”

“So you’re left all alone, then?”

“Senine’s seventeen, she’s pretty old!”

Miss Partridge kept writing.  “And how are you holding up with Mr. Vember’s untimely passing?”

“Oh.”  Faye visibly drooped.  “It’s...really hard, to be honest.  He...he helped me realize I deserved better than what my parents were doing to me?”

“May I ask what that was?”

“They...”  Faye thought about it for a few moments, trying to find words that would make her happy, and also, would not reveal herself as a Stellar Ranger.  “They used to lock me in the attic.  Sometimes all night, sometimes all weekend.  They took me out of school to do it, when I was...when they thought I was bad.”

“And what was in the attic?”

“Spiders.”

“And?”

“Just spiders.  There wasn’t a bed, it got really cold in the winter and really hot in the summer.”

“That’s...”  She flipped through her notes.  “They said they sent you to your room.”

“Y-you.  Talked to them?”

Miss Partridge nodded.  “Yes, I’m here on their behalf.  They’ve filed their formal desire to re-adopt you and claim you were taken from them on false pretenses.”

“That’s...that’s not true.  Mr. Vember, he saw that they were abusing me and he saved me from them.”

“So you don’t want to go back?  To your real parents?”

Faye shook her head.  “No.  No, never.  They.  They wanted me to be someone I wasn’t and...and they called me a monster and a demon and I don’t want to be with them, anymore.”

“They called you a...why would they do that?”

“Because they’re assholes.”  Came Senine’s voice from the doorway.

Miss Partridge looked towards her and frowned.  “Brunhilde.”

“It’s ‘Senine’ now, actually.”

“You’ve come up a lot, today.”  She said.  “First, as Avril’s friend.”

“I deserve at least air quotes with that.”

“Regardless, this is a private conversation with Faye, I’d appreciate it if--”

Senine came to the dining room table and sat down at it.  “I bet you would, but, Faye’s my sister and I want to be here and, honestly, I’m in charge of the house while Leah’s gone.

Miss Partridge sighed.  “I can’t stop you from being here, but Faye--”

Faye’s expression and tone were both very relieved.  “No, I’m glad she’s here!  Senine’s my sister and I love her a lot!  I feel a lot better with her here, especially, um...talking about them.”

“I suppose she can stay.”  Miss Partridge said, grudging against Senine’s smug smirk.

“Oh, thanks so much!  But yeah!  Anyway, they were...they were really not nice to me.”

“To give you an idea.”  Senine said.  “When she sees them out in public, Faye immediately tries to hide behind either me or Leah.”

“It’s true!  It’s...not very brave, but....but I just don’t want to see them or have to see them, anymore.  Could...could you make it like that?”

Miss Partridge scribbled down in her notebook.  “Yes, I can.  Did they ever hit you, Faye?”

“Oh, no, they just gave me the belt sometimes!”

Miss Partridge stopped writing to look Faye in the eye.  “That counts as hitting you, sweetie.”

“Oh.  Then yes.”

“Alright.”  Miss Partridge finished writing.  “Is there anything else you could tell me to help your case?”

“They locked her in an attic and hit her and you need more?”  Senine snorted.

“Without evidence, it might be tricky--”

“She literally told you!  Aren’t you supposed to listen to children?”

“Senine, please.”  Faye put her hand on Senine’s arm.  “Please don’t yell?  She’s doing her best!”

Senine looked at her, and then grumbled.  “Fine.”

“You’re happy?”

“I’m really really happy!”  Faye beamed. “I have so many friends!  I even have two girlfriends, it’s so neat!”

“Wait.  Two?”

“Yeah!  Junie and Dezzy!”

Senine smirked again.  “Can you not count that high?”

“I’m not sure that’s the healthiest--”

“Oh, no, it’s great!  See?”  Faye pulled out her phone and pulled up some pictures.  The first was of June and Destiny and Faye, all crowded together, while Faye shot a selfie.  The next was of June and Destiny playing guitar.  Next, was a picture of Destiny and June, in their makeup and outfits from the talent show.  They had their arms around their waists and were smiling at the camera.  Lastly, there was a picture of Faye, stretched across both of her girlfriends’ laps.

“I have more if you want to see those!”  Faye smiled widely.  “I just love them so much they’re so good!”

Miss Partridge looked at Faye, then down at her notes.  She scratched part of them out and said, “If you’re happy...that’s the important thing.  Do you have any complaints?  Is anything bothering you?”

“Uh, yeah!  But everyone does, right?  There’s nothing at home that bothers me, though, I have two great sisters!  I used to be an only child, it’s so much fun to have siblings!  I really really like it.”

Miss Partridge could not help but to smile back.  “Alright.  I would prefer that Julius and Leah were married, but...I suppose then you would be your girlfriend’s sister-in-law?”

“...Huh.  Does that mean it’s illegal to date???”

She laughed.  “No, of course not.  I need to get going, but, it was lovely to meet you, Faye.”

“Thanks!”

“I’ll walk you to the door.  Faye-Faye, get some takeout menus, we need to make Leah rue the day she gave us her credit card.”

“Okay!”  Faye rushed off, and Senine stood up and started to lead her to the door.

“It seems like you’ve thrived, Brunhilde.”  Miss Partridge said as she opened the door.

“It’s Senine.  Listen.”  Senine leaned against the doorframe.  “How likely is it that the courts will say Faye has to go back to those assholes who don’t deserve to have been her parents?”

“...It’s fifty-fifty, if I can be candid.  I very much hope they take her word for it.”

“Fifty-fifty isn’t good enough.  If she goes back to her birth parents, I am going to stop at absolutely nothing to get her back from them.”

“Senine--”

“Absolutely nothing, Partridge.”

Miss Partridge looked her in the eye and nodded.  “I’ll keep that in mind, but please.  Don’t do anything amora or illegall, Senine.  Please.  There’s always a better way.”

“Any single thing is better than letting her stay with them.”  Senine shut the door, not quite in Miss Partridge’s face, but close to it.   
  


*****

 

“Dezzy!”  Kismet shouted as she ran into Destiny’s room, at Stellar Ranger HQ.  “Dezzy, you’ll never guess what I did.”

Destiny looked up from over her phone.  She was laying on her stomach, with her feet raised behind her.  Kara was laying behind her, on her back, and similarly looking at her phone.  “You sparred with Avril, and she managed to beat your ass, and then you apologized and kissed her on the cheek.”

Kismet glared at Kara.  “You told her, didn’t you?”

“Yep.”  Kara said without looking up.

“You took all my fun away!”

“Without a second thought.”

Kismet walked over to the bed and sat next to her twin.  “Well?”

“I’m glad you finally started being less of a creep.”

“Shut up, Kara.”

Destiny glanced up again.  “I’m also glad you started being less of a creep.”

Kismet glared at both of them and flopped over Destiny’s back.  “Well, I did!  I turned over a new leaf and all of that junk.”

Kara finally looked at Kismet.  “You only did it because you didn’t want to face the consequences.”

“No!  Well, wait, yeah, basically?  But that’s why everyone does the right thing, right?”

“It kills me.”  Kara said.  “That you two have one conscience between the two of you.”

“I have a conscience!”  Kismet hit Kara with a pillow.  “Look, I don’t see why what I did was wrong, but, I trust Destiny when she tells me it is.”

“Because she’s your conscience.”

“Dezzy, please help me out here.”

“It’s easy, Kara.”  Destiny said.  “I’m the nice twin and Kizzy’s the mean twin.”

“You two are literally both mean.”

“So’re you.”  Kismet poked her.  “You’re meaner than either of us.”

“Threatening that poor bigot girl.”

Kara hit Destiny, and then Kismet, with a pillow.

“So.”  Dezzy said.  “Kizzy, do you have a plan?”

“I should...give her time and space?  That seems like it’s boring so it’s probably the right thing to do.”

“You got it on your own!  Nice.  Less work for me.”  Destiny scrolled through her phone.  “Oh, but, you can probably spar with her some more.  Maybe don’t let her win, this time?”  
“I didn’t.”  Kismet said.  “She beat me fair and square.  I mean, sure, I was going to do that, but, she moves really fast, and she’s always super aware of what’s going on around her--like, there was mist everywhere, and even though I could see her heat, she blocked me without even looking!”  Kismet made a happy sigh.  “She’s great, even better than I thought she’d be.”

“Oh my god, you actually care about someone that isn’t your twin.”  Kara grinned at Kismet.

Kismet glared at her in return.  “I care about people.  I’ve cared about people before, for your information.  I even care about your skinny ass!”

“Wow, thanks.”

“It’s true.  I thought about dating you, once, but we’d kill each other before the end of the week.”

Kara nodded.  “Yeah.  That sounds right.”

“So see!  I have so much consideration for people who aren’t Destiny.”

 

*****

 

“I can’t believe it.”  June said in the car on the way back to Solar City.  “I absolutely can’t believe you both proposed at the same time.”

“It was cute.”  Avril said.

“Yes but it was also...I mean, what’re the odds???”

In the front seat, both Julius and Leah were blushing furiously.

“I’m happy for you both.”  Avril said.

“I’m happy too but I’m still reeling!”  June pulled out her phone.  “Wow, I need to tell everyone, it’s about time we had good news.”

“June, maybe let us break the news?”  Julius said.

“Oh.  Yeah, right, sure.  Just, wow, I’m excited.  Would we move into the Vember place?  I can share a room with Faye.”

“Probably, and also, absolutely not.”

“But there’s not two extra bedrooms, just the one!”

Avril patted June on the shoulder.  “It’s okay.  I’ll stay in Senine’s room.”

“Absolutely not.”  Leah said.

June smiled at Avril.  “If she were here, she’d make fun of you for making a joke.”

“I know.”  Avril leaned against the door and looked out the window.  “Today was a good day, I think.  I hope the cakes and everything were alright.”

“Yeah.”  June said.  “They were, again, thanks a lot.  It’s really good to just...do something for Mom and Dad, you know?  It’s good to remember them, and to remember Mr. Vember, and everyone we’ve lost.  Thanks, Avril.  I didn’t ever think I would have a big sister but I’m glad you’re it.”

Avril blushed a bit, and smiled.  Outside, the trees were red and orange and yellow.  “...I want to date, again.”

“Oh.  Are you sure?”  
“I don’t think I’ll get better just...being afraid of it.  I want to try dating.  Casually, and maybe...with you there?  You and Faye, or you and Destiny, or both, ideally.  I don’t know if I can do it by myself but maybe with you there, I’ll know it’s okay.”

“Well...”  June said.  “I’ll do my best?  Who do you think you’re going to try dating?”

Avril drooped.  “I don’t know.  Why are there so many attractive girls out for me?  This is terrible.”

“I’m sorry, you’re just too hot, Avril.”  June shook her head and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.  “I’m sorry, it’s terminal.”

Avril nodded.  “It certainly feels that way.  Though...I’m not sure this is the right time, despite my feelings.  So many damn feelings.  After all, the twins are going to try something in at most fourteen days, if not sooner.  And we have to be ready for whatever that is.”

 

******

 

“Sister!”  Zanra flopped onto the grated floors of the Fallen Star.  “Sister!  I am so very, horridly bored!”

“I know, sister mine.”  Vanra knelt next to her and patted her on the head.  “For I, your very best sister, the single best and most considerate sister in the best and most considerate sister pair in this world, bonded by more than base blood or that hideous light called love, am also, exquisitely...”  Vanra flopped onto her sister.  “Bored!”

“We must do something!  Even torture is becoming boring!”  Zanra tried to roll, but Vanra was still weighing her down.  “I will simply perish if I’m not stimulated!”

Vanra got up, and then lifted Zanra into the air.  “Say it cannot be, sister!  Not when we are so very, very close.  Behold!”  Vanra twirled Zanra, who was hanging limp, like a rag doll, around.  “See!  The vault is so much brighter than it was!  Soon, my darling sister, it will be open!”

Zanra stared for a moment, and then perked up.  “Sister, that’s it!  Let’s go collect some light!”

“But...”  Vanra frowned.  “Sister, we promised.  We gave our word!”

They looked each other in the eye, and then grinned their big, sharp grins, and started to cackle.

“You had me for a moment, sister!”

“As if our word matters to a weak, useless human, sister!”

“Yes!  Let’s get a feast for the door!”

Vanra shook her head.  “No.  We must, at least, give the appearance of holding up our end of the bargain, my beloved priceless Zanra.  No, we find one person, the juiciest human we can find.  Overflowing with light and love and life.”

Zanra’s eyes began to sparkle as she started to realize what her sister was getting at.  “And we bring them here!  For us to drain over and over, until they become tainted and useless, like the prisoners!”

“Exacty!”  Vanra and her sister bounced up and down.  “We bleed them slowly, for every ounce of energy, until--”

“There is nothing left to take.”

  
  



	11. Episode Eleven:  True Tales of Mystery and Heroism

It was four days into the Stellar Rangers’ truce with Vanra and Zanra, and June was spending it by playing video games with Auggie.

Auggie was sitting on her bed, and June was next to her as they played.  Amber was at the desk, on the computer, with headphones on and playing an MMO.

June leaned forward and started furiously tapping on the buttons.  “Come on!  Come on, just get this move off and--”

Auggie calmly entered a button combination, and her character unleashed a truly frightening combo that smashed June’s character into the ground.

June glared at Auggie and put the controller down.  “You tricked me.”

“Why, June, you’re accusing me?”

“You showed me a fighting game full of pretty girls so you could beat me.”

Auggie’s grin was shameless.  “You sound as paranoid as Cassie does!  Babe!  Does that sound like me?”

Amber waved Auggie off and leaned forward as she tapped away at the number row and clicked her mouse.

“That was her agreeing with me.”

June gave her an incredulous look.  “Was it?”

“Yeah, you gotta speak ‘Amber is tanking’ speak.  She’s in the middle of a raid, the rest of the world doesn’t even exist, right now.  Except me, I’m her whole world.  The love of her life.  The light of her very existence.”

“Just, getting this in while Amber can’t hear you?”

“Yep!  Want to go another round?”

June shook her head.  “No, I know when I’m beat.  I still want to hang out, though.”

“Well...”  Auggie held up the blu-ray for the tapdancing spider movie they had enjoyed over the summer.

June’s eyes sparkled.  “Yes, absolutely.”

Before they could put it in, however, Auggie’s bedroom door opened.  In came Gemini, Cassie, Janice, and, strangely enough, the blonde, black-dressed form of Lydia Vanderbilt.  She was holding the high-end digital camera, covered in ghost and ufo stickers, that she was usually used to seeing in her cohort, Malcolm Talbot’s, hands.

“Uh, hey?”  June said.  “What’s...up?”

“It’s Malcolm.”  Lydia had the red eyes of someone who had recently been crying, and they were watering enough that June was not sure she would not just start up again at any moment.  “He’s...he’s gone?  He’s missing and I don’t know what’s up with you guys, I don’t know, but Malcolm kept insisting you...that you guys were heroes and...”

“And I was the last person he was with.”  Janice finished.  She put her hand on Lydia’s arm.  “It’s okay, we’ll figure it out.”

“I have...I have his camera?  I thought.  Maybe we could...”

Auggie walked over to Lydia and gently took the camera from her.  She took out a cable and connected it to her TV, and then switched the channel.  They were now looking at a still image, one of the front yard of the school.

June scooted over, and the Schumachers flanked her.  Janice sat near the TV, as did Lydia and Auggie.

Auggie hit play, and the image started to move.

The view of the camera started to move across the yard.  “It’s time for another episode of True Tales of Mystery and Heroism.  I know, I know, I was going to show you guys that weird haunted house, but, it’s being torn down, so that’s not very fun.  Instead, I’m going to try something special.”

The camera wheeled around, and showed Janice, Gemini, Kara, and Amber, all talking amongst themselves around a tree.

“An interview!  With real superheroes.  And, sorry, everyone’s going to be censored, again.”

“H-he must not.”  Lydia said.  “Have had time to.  To.”

Janice patted her on the back.

“Ready, Lyd?”

“As ever, boss!”  Came Lydia’s voice from the TV.

“And, like...I don’t know?”  Came Amber’s voice as Malcolm approached.  “Like.  Do you want to, like, try it?”

The Gemini on the couch blushed.  “Oh.  Huh.  Well, we don’t need to hear this.”

Auggie was paying rapt attention.

“...I mean, I guess I am irresistible?  Sure.”  Gemini said.  As soon as she said it, Kara tossed a pine cone at her.

“Excuse me!”  Malcolm said as he approached the group.  “I’m sorry, but can I have an interview?  It’s for my blog, I want to unravel the mysteries of Solar City!”

“Oh, nice!”  Janice said.  “I love mysteries!”  
“Like, Jan???”  Amber said.  “You, like, _are_ a mystery of Solar City.”

“Oh.”  Janice’s smile faded.  “Right.  Sorry.  We kind of can’t talk about it.”

“Just a few questions.  I’ll blur it, I swear!”  The camera approached the seated Stellar Rangers.  “Please, the people are just dying to know what’s happening.”

“Hey.”  Kara said as she stood.  “We don’t want to be filmed.  Get lost, that’s all there is to it.”

“Kara, be nicer.”  Janice said.  “People in town are in danger, maybe they should know what’s going on?”

“Wait, danger?”  Lydia could be heard saying from off camera.

Amber looked up at the cameras, and they abruptly turned off.

The next video came on as a still of footage of Malcolm and Lydia, talking.  The camera looked as though it had been placed on the table.

Auggie got up, and patted Amber on the shoulder.  She took off her headphones, and looked back, and then did a double-take.  “Like, what???  Is something, like, happening?  Like, why’s Lydia, like, here?”

“Malcolm’s missing, we’re going over his footage and I think it’s important?”

Amber looked to June.  “Like, is it?”

June nodded.  “Yeah, why don’t you get out of the game for a bit?”

Amber looked back to her game.  “Like, whatever, we were wiping a lot, anyway.”

Auggie moved to the camera, and played the next video.

“Well, gang, I’m sorry that didn’t amount to much, but, we got a confirmation on the danger, just like I said!  So maybe be a bit more careful when you’re wandering around at night, okay?”

“Malcolm?” Janice’s voice said from offscreen.  The next moment, she stepped on screen.  “Look, I wanted to say, I’m sorry about what happened--Kara got defensive.  She gets defensive.”

“Hey, it’s okay.  I understand it, secret identity and all that, right?”

“Yeah, but...”  Janice looked down at the camera.  “I have a proposition for you.  I want to get some interviews recorded, and you have experience with this sort of thing, right?”

Lydia beamed.  “We once talked to a guy who saw the skunk ape!”

“Yeah!  It was fake but we did it nonetheless!”

“O...kay, alright.  So.  If you help me with the interviews, I’ll help you with yours.  As in, I’ll give you an interview.  Do we have a deal?”

Malcolm grinned and stood up.  He gave Janice’s hand an enthusiastic shake.  “You have a deal!  I’ll do it, you won’t regret it.”

He walked over to the camera and added, “We can start immedi--”

The next video was queued up.  This one showed Leah, sitting on the couch in the Vember family living room.

“Jan.”  Gemini said.  “What the hell?”

“I don’t often agree with Gemini, but.”  June looked to her.  “You were just going to tell things to Malcolm?”

“I can explain.”

“You know you have a camera phone, right?”  Auggie poked her.

“Look, people do deserve to know about the danger.  I know we aren’t supposed to tell people but, honestly, what the twins are doing is horrible and it puts everyone in this city at risk.  Plus...I wanted the interview format for a reason.  There was some info I wanted to get, but I wasn’t able to get to everyone, just the other twins, Leah, and Avril.”

June sighed.  “Okay, yes.  You’re right, but I wish you’d have asked me, first?  I am sort of the leader and while I’m not super leaderly besides the occasional big leader speech, this is the sort of thing you should probably clear with me or Senine.”

Janice nodded.  “Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that.  Anyway, Auggie, I don’t know if you need to show the interview?  Maybe skip past it?”

Auggie nodded.  The interview started to play.

“Well...it’s hard, but...”  Leah looked questioningly at the camera, and then back at what June assumed to be Janice.  “Okay.  I’ll tell you what I remember, if you think--”

Auggie skipped ahead.

“So, why were you doing this, Janice?”  Cassie asked.

“It’s for Zanra and Vanra.  I need to corroborate my evidence.”

“But why ask Leah?”  Gemini asked.

“You’ll see.  I want to run it by Senine and June in private, first.”

The next still showed Kismet and Destiny, in the Stellar Ranger HQ.

“...You let him into the HQ?”  June asked.

“...Listen.  Yes, but, he’d already zeroed in on it for being weird, okay?  Remember, he’s not effected by any of the things we use to hide our identity.”

“...So that’s not a blank screen, right now?”  Lydia asked.

“Long story short, nope.”  Auggie skipped past it, and then the next video, which looked to be Avril, sitting in a booth at her job.

“Ms. Kerberus must’ve, like, hated that?”  Amber said.

“Oh, uh, maybe...let’s not tell her?”

The next video was of Janice and Malcolm, walking down the street.  “It’s too bad Lydia couldn’t come.”

“Yeah, sorry, she’s not magic enough.”  Janice said.  “She’d just stand there and refuse to see an entrance.  You apparently have some sort of...low-power magic field?  It’s too weak to give you magic powers, but, it’s strong enough that things that affect normal people don’t affect you.”

“So...it’s magic then?  Not alien powers?  Not psychic stuff?”

“Yeah, it’s magic, though I can confirm aliens also have magic.”

Though she could not see it, June assumed Malcolm’s eyes were sparkling when he said, “That is...so cool.”

“It’s pretty cool, yeah.”  Janice checked her phone.  “Oh, crap, I need to head home for dinner.  Maybe we can finish up the interviews tomorrow?”

“Totally!  Whatever you’re comfortable with, I’ll email what we got today to you?”

“Perfect!”  Janice waved, and started for a bus stop.  “Later, Mal!  You were a big help.”

There was a pause, and then Malcolm brought the camera around to show his face.  “She said I was a big help!  A real, actual superhero said I was a big help!  That’s...I don’t even have words to describe it!  That’s so cool I can’t even deal with it.  I need to send this to Lydia, she’ll flip!”

“Is that your girlfriend?”  The voice that said that put everyone in the room on alert.  Malcolm spun around, and the camera was pointed directly at Zanra.

“Uh.  No?  She’s my friend, my best friend.  Can I help you, uh, little girl?”

“A best friend!”  Came a voice behind him.  He turned, and Vanra was on the camera, now. 

“A dear companion, sister!”  Zanra said.  Malcolm wheeled back around.

“A person to give another a heart bursting with light!”  Vanra added.

“Okay, well, I’m going home and--”

“Home!”  Zanra said.  “Oh, dear.  Vanra, how upsetting!  It thinks it’s going home.”

“Indeed, Zanra!  Whyever would it think it’s going home?”

Malcolm tried to push past Zanra.  “Okay!  Halloween’s over, I’m going--”

Vanra was in front of him.  She looked up at him, and her mouth split in a wide, toothy grin.

Lydia jumped and let out a startled cry.  Janice said, “I know, trust me, I know.”

“Sister.”  Zanra said.  Malcolm backed up, and the camera saw both twins as he hit a wall.  “Shall we take him to our home?”

“Where the heart is!”

“Or where it would be.”

“If we had hearts.”

The twins stepped forward, and the camera fell to the ground.  When it hit, it was on the spot where Malcolm had been, but there was nothing there but bricks.

There was not another recorded video.

Lydia spun around, and looked at the others.  Her voice was frenzied and her eyes were streaming tears, again.  “What happened, what were those...things!!!  What did they do to him where’s Malcolm, is he...is he okay???”

June moved off the couch and knelt down in front of her.  “Those are...well, I won’t lie to you, Lydia.  Those are monsters.  They’re callous and unpredictable but they absolutely would not kill him.  He’s...well, he’s not a place we know how to reach, right now, but when we do, I promise you, we’ll get him back.”

“...Is that all?”  Lydia asked.  She looked to the Stellar Rangers.  “He’s with monsters and they’re horrible but you don’t know how to get him back?”

“Yes, but we will get him back.  I promise you, Lydia.” June said.  “We’ll get Malcolm back, and they will not kill him.”

“But...what  _ are _ they going to do with him?”

“They’re...they’re going to steal the magic from him.  Drain it from him for...something we don’t know, some sort of treasure they’re trying to liberate.”  June looked Lydia in the eye.  “We will get him back, and we will stop them.  It’s what we do.”

“But...could we just give it to them?”

“That’s not an option.”  Gemini said.  “Anything they want isn’t something we want them to have.”

“That.”  Cassie said.  “And we’ve established that they would kill every person in this city without thinking about it.  They need to be stopped, and all loss of life must be halted.”

Lydia looked down, and said, “Two years ago, a bunch of people died at a coffee shop under weird circumstances.  Malcolm’s been trying to figure out what happened there the whole time.”

June stiffened.  Auggie had frozen where she was sitting and took a deep breath, with the intention of calming herself.  Gemini and Cassie both had matching expressions of fear and sadness.

“Could you have saved those people?”

“We avenged them.”  June said.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I don’t know.”  June said.  “I don’t know if we could have or not.  We were across town, and...and we all almost died, killing the things that killed them.  We didn’t know they’d be there.  We didn’t know what was happening until it happened and I felt the atrocity.”

“...What if something like that happens to Malcolm.”

“I don’t know, Lydia.”  June said.  “I don’t know.  But I’ll try as hard as I can to keep it from happening.”

 

*****

 

Malcolm pulled at the chains that bound his arms and legs.  They were locked with locks that had no keyhole or combination.

He was in a dark room, in front of a line that curved from the floor and shimmered with lights.

Vanra and Zanra stood in front of him.  Vanra held a device that looked like a matte black conch in her hand, and she held it forward.  Greyish light drained from him, and Malcolm felt something drain from him.  It was like warmth, but it was not exactly warm.  It was like energy, but it was not exactly physical.  As it drained, he felt weak and tired and his fear drained away, replaced by an emptiness he had never felt, before.

Vanra handed the conch to Zanra, and she skipped over to the vault.  She pressed the conch to it, and the line extended in grey, up just a tiny bit.

“That’s one percent, sister!”  Zanra called.  Vanra rushed over to her sister and grinned.

“Nineteen percent, sister!  It shan’t be long, now.”

“What’s going on??  Where am I?”  Malcolm shouted as he struggled against his bonds.

The twins both spun around to grin at him.

“It’s talkative, sister!”

“Truly! We should drain it until it’s an empty husk.”

“Not yet, Zanra.  Slowly, remember.”

“But sister mine, what if it corrupts before we get it all!”

“But what if, if drained faster, its void is filled with corruption?”

“What do you mean, corruption?”  Malcolm asked.

They looked back to him.

“Uncorrupted.”  Zanra said.

“Devoid of taint.”

“But, um...what corrupts, um, magic?  Is that what you mean, when you say light?”

Zanra rolled her eye.  “Humans are so dumb, sister.”

“I know, sister.”

“Everything in the Fallen Star.”  Zanra gestured all around them.  “Everything here is corrupted, over time.  The staff, the prisoners, everything has been corrupted by our prize.”

Vanra’s eye lit up.  “Oh, Zanra...shall we show him?”

“Yes!”  Zanra clapped.  “Let’s turn on the lights.”

 

June and Senine were both sitting in Janice’s room, which had several bookcases, two desks, and posters for shows and books with mystery solvers, from plucky kids teens to adults to the elderly.  Janice paced around in front of June and Senine, and said, “Okay, I have a theory, with evidence, about...what the twins are, and what they want here and what their prize is.”

“Shoot.”  Senine said.  “I don’t want to walk blind, here.”

“I just don’t want to be wrong.  I don’t want this to be Lanessa again, and--”

June nodded.  “I know.  But it’s fine, Janice.  You’re the smartest person I know--don’t tell the Schumachers--and if anyone’s solved this mystery, it’s you.”

“Okay, so.”  Janice took a deep breath.  “I’ve reviewed all the data I’ve found, and all of the information, from both encounters with the twins, and also, with Lanessa, and I think...I think the twins, they’re....”

 

A bright blue light filled the room, shining like the flowers of Blue Stars of Mourning.  As it got brighter and brighter, Malcolm could read words on the vault door, words translated by spells designed to reveal the meaning of alien languages, woven through the very magic of it, so there could be no mistake as to what the vault contained.

 

“I think they’re the sisters Lanessa talked about.  The Jaws of Despair, I think that’s both of them, together.  There are two halves to a set of jaws, and I think that’s Vanra and Zanra.”

June stared at her, and then put a hand to her throat.  “N-no.”

Senine just sighed.  “I was afraid you were going to say something like that.”  
“And I think...if that’s true, and god, I hope it isn’t, but...”  Janice looked both of them in the eye.  “What could make the Penumbra so afraid?  What could be so...so horrible?”

“No.”  June was starting to hyperventilate.  “No, it can’t be.”

 

The vault was labeled thus:

Prisoner 0000001

The being contained within is a Class Nine Despair Hazard

Under no circumstances must this door be opened

May the prisoner languish forever, to avoid the catastrophes that her freedom or death would bring.

 

“See, human!?”  Vanra cackled.  “See what we want so badly??”

“The most beautiful and powerful creature in the universe!”

“Our mother, the greatest mother we have ever had!”

“A monster of terrible power, the Daughter of Despair herself, the first and the last living of her Daughters.  A creature beyond comprehension, of unlimited power!”

 

“It’s Sie, June.”  Janice said.  “The thing that’s worth more than anything else?  It’s not power or a weapon or anything like that.  It’s not even money.  It’s simple.  It’s a mother’s love.”

 

“Sie!”  Zanra’s frenzied voice shouted.  “Beautiful Sie, lovely Sie, eternal and malicious Sie!  The Hand of Despair!”

 

“I c-can’t.” June’s breaths came fast and shallow.  She clawed at her neck.  “No, no no no no, not again, not more of them, please.”

Senine put her hand on June’s leg and said, “June.  Calm down.”

“No!”  June scurried back, away from Senine’s hand.  “No, I can’t, we all almost died, we all almost died so many times and...and Sie I--”

“June.”  Janice walked over to the bed.  “Please, June.”

“Do you understand???”  June snarled through her tears as she pushed herself towards Janice.  “Zanra and Vanra, they’re...they’re bad but you don’t understand the...the visceral fear I felt, how I lost control and...and that was just proximity to her, Janice!  Senine, I was just...just near her and I nearly killed you.  I nearly killed you both and...and Lanessa’s sisters are here and they’re going to want revenge on me!  I killed their sister and...”

Senine looked June in the eye and said, “They won’t get their revenge.”

“B-but you don’t under--”

“I don’t understand a lot of things!  But that doesn’t mean I give up.”  Senine said.  “Listen, June.  I don’t know how you felt, and I don’t understand how dangerous she is, but, I do know that we stopped Lanessa, okay?  We stopped Lanessa, and we’re stronger for it, now--and, hell, there are even more of us.  We can stop the twins from raising Sie.  We can do it together.”  Senine put her hand on June’s hand.  “We’re the Solar City Stellar Rangers and there’s nothing we can’t beat as a team.”

June looked Senine in the eye, and she nodded.  “R-right.  If we keep them from finishing, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Right.  Okay.”  Senine stood up.  “I’ll go tell Ms. Kerberus and Leah about this.  Jan, you should come, too, cause Ms. K’s going to want to know your evidence.”

Janice looked to June, and then to Senine.  “Right.  Yeah.  I’ll do that.  Junie...I’m going to call your brother, is that okay?”

June nodded.  “Can..you call Destiny and Faye, too?”

“Sure.  Whatever you need.”

 

*****

 

Some time later, June was sitting in her room, with her guitar in hand.  She tried to play, but nothing was coming to her, save for those same repetitive notes, with, maddeningly, no hint of what was supposed to come with it.

Her door opened, and Faye, Destiny, and Kismet all came inside.  Faye and Destiny both ran over to June, though Destiny pretended to take her time to preserve some dignity, she arrived the moment after Faye.

“Oh, Junie.”  Faye said.  “Are you okay?”

June put her guitar away and shook her head.  Faye launched herself around her girlfriend and held her tightly.  Destiny sat down on her other side, and hugged her just as much.

“I’m here because...yikes?”  Kismet said.  “I didn’t know you were doing so badly, like, for real.  I thought that Jan was exaggerating.”

“No.”  June said.  “No, I’m sorry, I had a bad reaction and...if this is Sie then that’s basically a worst case scenario if she gets out.  The only worse thing would be Despair Herself coming down.”

“But...we got it, right?  With our combined forces, we can totally school these grade-school star vampires, right?”  Destiny said.

“...Yeah, definitely.”  June said.  “There’s more of us, and we’re all stronger than we were when we fought Lanessa.  Plus, we know where they are, and what they’re planning.”  June’s words had confidence, but she did not.  Her mind was replaying the feeling of helpless terror she had felt, when the Fallen Star had entered orbit.  She was remembering the twins, suddenly in her room, and then, she was remembering being held up by her throat by Lanessa and looking down, into a hood full of cold, blue eyes.

 

*****

 

“Boy.”

Malcolm jolted awake and glanced around.  There was a deep voice in his head, one that did not sound human in a way he was hard pressed to figure out how.  “Who...who’s there?”

“Mentally.  Don’t say it out loud.  The Vran Sie will hear you.”

Malcolm tried to reply in his mind,  _ Uh, is this better? _

“Yes.  My name is Sotusc, I’m the warden of this prison.  My magic is tied with my prison--I can communicate with anyone being held in my prison, and I can always find anyone in my prison, among other things.”

_ Oh wow uh quick question are you an alien? _

Sotusc sighed.  “Yes, I suppose, from your perspective, I’m an alien.”

_ Oh wow I mean this is an honor. _

“We don’t have time for pleasantries.  Listen carefully, because the Vran Sie won’t leave either of us alone, for long.  We’re safe for as long as they are finding a prisoner to eat.”

_ To...eat???? _

“Yes.  As star vampires, they will devour the light from the hearts of my prisoners, until the feel satiated.  They’ve been gorging themselves for a while, on the ones too weak or injured to suit their purposes.  Now listen.  You’re bound in chains, secured by a magnetic lock.  If you wriggle enough, you should be able to get out, but don’t do it now.”

_ Um.  Why not now? _

“Because the Vran Sie are unstable and vicious.  We don’t want to attempt our escape when there’s a chance they’re around.  We’ll wait until they’ve left my prison.  Tell me, boy, what’s your name, and what planet is this?  I have my suspicions.”

_ My name’s Malcolm Talbot, and this is Earth.  Solar City, to be specific. _

“Do you know a girl named June Hespia?  Is she in this city?”

_ Uh.  Yeah!  I know her. _

“Good.  When we’re free, I’m going to need you to take me to her.  If anyone can defeat the Vran Sie, and the thing behind the vault, if necessary, it’s her.  We just have to wait for our moment, and then, I do the thing I never thought I would ever have to do.

“We’re going to break out of my prison.”


	12. Episode Twelve:  The Cadence

Veracity took a deep breath, and ran her hands over the tarot spread on the ground below her.  She lifted the first card with a shaky hand, and turned it over.

She immediately turned it back over.  She turned her head up and said, “What am I supposed to do?  How can I stop this?  Tell me something, please.  Tell me anything, how do I stop it?”

She flipped it over, again.  It was a woman with red eyes, on horseback.  She had a flaming staff pointed above her, and was charging forward.

She turned over the next one.  It showed a wooden wheel, with blue stars of mourning growing from it.  Inscribed in the wheel were six symbols--a set of top jaws of some sharp-toothed predatory animal, a set of bottom jaws of the same, both together, a pair of pairs of glasses, a sunburst with a white outer edge and a black center, and a large, grasping hand.

Veracity turned over the next card. It showed a woman on horseback, with an axe surrounded in snowflakes, pointed forward.

There were three cards left.  Veracity’s hand was shaking.

“There has to be something I can do, isn’t there?”

The next card was a familiar one.  A girl with long green hair, holding a scythe on the back of a pale horse, marked with the number XIII.

“Why can’t I see what this means?”  Veracity’s voice was panicked.  “Tell me what this means.  Why do I keep drawing these cards?”

She turned over the next one, and then threw it to the side.

Her door opened, and Senine came in.  She rushed over to the bed and put an arm around Veracity.  “Babe?  Babe, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”  Veracity waved her hand, and her cards re-assembled themselves into a deck.  “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Okay, I’m not sure who you think you’re fooling but it’s absolutely not me.”  Senine took off Veracity’s glasses and looked her in her sightless eyes.  “What’s wrong?”

“Doom is coming, Senine.  Doom and calamity, followed by...by worse things.”

“That’s specific.”

“I can’t read the signs.  I can’t read them, but I know something specific.”  Veracity turned away.  “I won’t be here much longer.  I’m going to have to leave this town.  Something’s going to happen to make me leave.”

“You’re....”  Senine’s face fell.  “...What?”

“I am going to have to leave.  To go searching for something.  And I know I won’t succeed, not in time, but I know that I won’t be here any longer.  And I know that doing this puts me in terrible danger.  Horrible danger.  But I’m going to have to leave, Senine.”

“...That sounds an awful lot like bullshit.”

“I’m afraid not.  It’s the truth, and that’s what makes it truly awful.”  Veracity said.  “I’m scared, Senine.  I’m terrified of what the cards are telling me.”

Senine put her arm around Veracity and said, “So, are you going to write?  Call?”

“I’ll try.  I’ll try to.”

“This is...kinda sudden?”  Senine said with a wry grin.  “You know, if I knew you worried about doom all the time, I would’ve started dating you, sooner.  We would have had something in common.”

“I know, now.  I just don’t want to worry people with things that can’t be stopped, until I know how to stop them.  Telling someone about a prophecy, nine times out of ten?  Makes it happen.”

“Is that why you told me we’d date?”

Veracity grinned.  “You’re perceptive.  Did I ever tell you how perceptive you were?”

“Never.  Hey.”  Senine kissed Veracity.  “We should get some of this in while we can, right?”

Veracity smiled into the kiss.  “Absolutely.”

 

*****

 

Destiny swung her axe out, and Avril dodged away and came in for a heavy slash.  Desinty grinned and stepped back, dragging her foot along the ground as she went.  Avril stepped forward, to press the attack, and found her foot sliding on a patch of ice.  She lost her footing, and when she did, Destiny pushed forward, chopping down with one axe held in two hands.

Avril managed to block, and found herself sliding back.  She summoned a second sword, and brought both around at Destiny.  Destiny stepped to the side and raised a column of ice.  Both swords sunk into it, leaving Avril exposed as Destiny brought her axe around.

Avril banished both of her swords and pushed off the ice column.  The axe came harmlessly around as Avril slid back on the icy patch.  She summoned both swords again and twirled once, before raising them towards Destiny.

Destiny grinned, and summoned a second axe.  “You know, Kizzy was right about you.”

“I told you!”  Kismet shouted from the sidelines.  She was sitting with Faye and June. “Remember, loser has to pay for dinner!”

“We share a card.”  Destiny said.

“So don’t lose!”

June watched them spar, but her mind was elsewhere.  In the back of her head, the pulse of that beat kept playing insistently through her, coupled with thoughts of both the twins, and also, of their terrible mother, locked away under the lake.

Avril darted forward on a wave.  Destiny froze it, but Avril pushed off of the wave, anyway, and slashed both swords forward.  Destiny deflected her to the side, and Avril landed in a spray of surf that cushioned her fall.

June tapped the beat on her leg.  She had her eyes closed and she was trying to find the right song to go with it, but nothing came up.

Janice slid next to Kismet.  “They’re still going at it?”

“Yep.”  Kismet said. “It’s pretty great but I really don’t wanna step out on a wet, icy floor right now, and they’re making pretty much everything wet and icy.”

“You know, we could just melt it.”

“That’s effort, Jan.”

Destiny raised both of her axes up.  Waist-high pillars of ice rose all around her, and ice crept all along the ground.  “Okay, let’s start hard mode.”

Avril hopped up onto one of the pillars, and held a sword out.

Destiny’s eyes lit up.  “Oh hell yes.”  She joined Avril on top of the pillars.  “I am so down for what you’re suggesting, you’ve got absolutely NO idea how down I am for this.”

“Okay, one of them is absolutely going to fall and break their face.”  Janice said.

“Oh no, do you really think so?”  Faye asked.  “I hope not, I like both of their faces unbroken!”

June tapped a bit harder.  The sound was there, at the edges of her brain, but she could not quite access it.

“What’s the matter, you wretched human?”

June’s eyes snapped open.

Vanra and Zanra were floating in front of them.

Avril and Destiny both almost fell off the pillars when they noticed them.  Faye summoned her claws and started to growl.  Kismet did not obviously act, but she was ready to jump at any moment.  Janice just watched them intently.

“What do you want?”  June asked.  “You’re still not supposed to be hurting anyone.”

“And we aren’t!”  Vanra said.  “The very idea we would not keep out promise!”

“It’s horrible, Vanra!  This awful human doesn’t think we’re trustworthy!  She has besmirched us!”

“We already know you broke the agreement.”  Destiny said as she approached them.  “With that Malcolm guy.”

“Oh no, was he missed?”  Vanra frowned.  “Unfortunate.”

“It’s just one!  Surely we can be forgiven for one!”  Zanra said.  “Please?  No one ever misses a single cookie, gone from the jar.”

“Again, what do you want?”  June asked.  “Why are you here?  How’d you get through the wards?”

“Oh, we can go wherever we want, really.”

“Anywhere and everywhere!”

Vanra and Zanra looked at each other and grinned.  “As for what we wanted, well....”

“You keep tapping your hand.”  Zanra said.

“In a certain...Zanra, what’s the word?”

“Cadence.”  Zanra said with a wide, toothy smile.

Vanra stated to sing it, and June’s eyes went wide.

“The Cadence of Despair.”  Zanra said, and then started to sing as Vanra stopped.

“Or at least, part of the Cadence.”  Vanra started to sing again as Zanra started to speak.

“The song that was used to seal parts of Despair, and remove fragments of it from others!”

“The song you could use to save the prisoners, rather than butcher them!”

Vanra and Zanra stopped singing and grinned at her.  “If only it wasn’t ours.”

“It’s...”  June stood up.  “Yours?”

“Yes!  It’s ours.”  Vanra said.

“We stole it.”

“And now, the Penumbra can remember it.”

“But not play it.”

“Just like the Grand Finale, except, that was given to us.”

“Much like the ability to play two songs at once.”

“So you see,”  Vanra started to float away.  “You absolutely could save the prisoners!”

“It’s completely within your wretched loathsome human power!”  Zanra was grinning her terrible grin.

“Except we stole it from the Penumbra.”  They said as one.  “We bit into it and ripped its essence out and stole your only way to help them.  We slaughtered a holder of the Penumbra, and we gorged ourselves on her remains.”

“Wait a sec!”  Janice said.  “Hold on, I have something--”

“We don’t care, terrible human.”  They said.  “But...we can play a game!  Hide and seek.  We’ll be somewhere in this city.”

“With this.”  Zanra tossed one of her black conch devices in the air.

“And if you find us.”  Vanra said.

“Well.”

“We’ll stop stealing energy and maybe.”

“We’ll play a song for you.”

They vanished, humming the beat of the Cadence of Despair the whole time.

“Junie, we have to confront them.”  Janice said.  “We can confirm my theories and maybe we can pummel them into telling us about the Cadence.”

“Right.  Avril.”  June turned to her.  “Could you round everyone else up?  We’ll do this in a couple groups, we’ll cover more space that way.”

Avril nodded.  “I’ll get Senine and Veracity, and then call the Schumachers, Leveys, and Kara.”

June turned to everyone else.  “Okay, let’s go try to find them.  This is probably a trap, but...honestly, this could also be what we’ve been waiting for.”

 

*****

 

“Malcolm.”

Malcolm shot awake, from a dream he could not remember.  All he knew about it was that it was better than his reality, hungry and thirsty and hanging from chains in front of a door that had, behind it, what he could only assume was Space the Devil.

“Malcolm, this is urgent.  The Vran Sie are gone from this place.  We have but a short amount of time with which to escape.”

Malcolm nodded, and started to wriggle in the chains.  They were stuck fast around his shoulders, and bound his arms tightly.     _ It’s no good, it’s too tight. _

“You will not be free without pain, and I’m sorry for saying this but it is a pain you must endure.”

_ Uh.  Okay.  I’ll try. _  Malcolm wriggled against the chains again.  They scraped against his hoodie, pulling his sleeves up and cutting into his bare skin.  He cried out as he turned his arm around.  He broke nails and jammed fingers, but, he managed to get a hand on one of the chains.  

“Good. Don’t rush, but don’t take too long.  There’s no way of telling when the Vran Sie will return.”

 

*****

 

“Veracity.”  Avril pounded on the door.  “Senine.”

“Oh!  Mermaid!”  Senine called from inside.  “You’re actually right on time!  Just come in for a sec.”

“I’ll pass.  We need to get going.  The twins are draining people in town and calling it hide and seek.  June has gone off, already, and we need more teams to look for them.  And probably our leader, too.”

There was a pause, and Senine opened the door.  “She went off already?  Without telling us?”

“The twins taunted her about knowing a song that can cure monsters rather than destroying them.”  Avril said.  “She went off with Faye, the Marches, and Janice.”

“...So it’s time, then.”  Veracity said from inside.

“Time for what?”  Senine turned back.

“...We need to find them and support them, now.”  Veracity said.  “Tell Ms. K and Leah, and then we need everyone to go and find them as soon as we can.”

Avril did not second guess her, and ran off.

“Wow, I just find out about it and it’s now?”

Veracity nodded.  “Yes.  I’ve known for...for a long time.  This is the doom.  This is the start of everything going wrong.”

“Does going for help work?”

“It just barely does not, no.”

“Well.”  Senine pulled out her phone with one hand and summoned her hammer with the other.  “Let’s see if we can change that.”

 

“They’re doing what????”  Ms. Kerberus stood up from her desk.  “She should have told me, why do these children keep doing things without telling me?”

“Aunt Natalie.”  Leah stood as well.  “Now’s not the time.”

“You’re right.  Avril, do you know where they’re going?”

Avril shook her head.  “No, just somewhere in the city.  Aren’t you forbidden from helping?”

“You have no backup against a potential star vampire attack.”  Ms. Kerberus summoned her riding crop.  “I will not let that happen again.”

“...I’m not sure June expected this much backup, but, thank you.”

“I swear, Avril.”  Ms. Kerberus put her hand on her shoulder.  “I swear, if I can help it, the Stellar Rangers you have left will not betray your trust.”

 

*****

 

“I think I smell them?”  Faye said, sniffing the air as she moved.  “I smell blood and sugar and... and those glowing flowers.”

“Yeah, and people are looking...”  Janice glanced around, and saw that the people here were swaying on their feet, and that they looked vacant and unfocused.  “Drained...and oh, hey, that’s probably it, huh?”

Ahead of them, people were running as fast as they could from a bakery, screaming in terror as they went.

“Yep.”  June said.  She reached into her chest, and pulled the Penumbra from it.  Her Penumbral form washed over her.

They heard the cackling before they saw them.  Vanra and Zanra came out of the bakery, and floating behind them was an entire wedding cake that had been covered in donuts.  Vanra and Zanra turned to it, and descended upon it like sharks with blood in the water.  There was frosting everywhere, and, in an absurdly short amount of time, the cake was gone.

“Holy shit.”  Both March twins said at once.

“Oh!  Look, Vanra!”  Zanra turned to the Stellar Rangers.  “They found us!”

“You weren’t really hiding.”  June said.

“We were hiding for stupid humans, of course that’s obvious.”  Vanra rolled her eye.  “If we actually hid, you’d never find us!”

“You haven’t even found us where we’re based!”

Janice stepped forward.  “Yeah, well, I know a few things about you.”

“Do you?”  Vanra and Zanra were suddenly right next to her.

“Is it how elegant we are?”  Zanra asked.

“Is it how perfect we are?”  Vanra asked.

“Is it how superior in every way we are to you insignificant, horrible humans?”

Janice kept her cool, even though she was surrounded by them.  “No.  It isn’t.  I know who you are, and I know why you’re here.”

The twins both stared at her for a moment, and then disappeared.  The appeared back near the site of the cake disaster.

“So.”  Zanra said.

“Tell us.”  Vanra finished.

They were not smiling.  Janice gulped at that.

“W-well, I did a lot of research, on the Penumbra and about creatures of Despair, and I remembered that there was a Penumbral instrument called a...violin-harp?  Well, it was listed as falling to Despair, and then, later, there was a depiction of the Lanessa--”

When she said that name, both Zanra and Vanra twitched and bared their teeth.

“--Okay, you’re familiar.  Battling something called the Jaws of Despair, another Vran Sie, and the Jaws were said to have a terrible instrument.  Well, also, I talked with some of the people who talked with Lanessa and, well, she said her sister had more of a use for familial love than she did, and you, well, you got really mad when Kara made fun of your Mom.”

Janice was now pacing back and forth.  “And!  And and and, you’re the Jaws, and there’s two of you.  Two Jaws.  That’s why you’re called that and not the Maw of Despair or anything.

“And you’re here for two reasons!  One, you want to get even with June for killing your sister, and two, well.  Sie’s in the Fallen Star, isn’t she.  That’s what you need the energy for, freeing her from where she’s locked up.”

The twins stared at her for a moment, and then burst into fits of giggles.  “Oh, you did so good!”  Vanra said.

“She’s so smart for a human, Vanra!  I’m impressed!”  Zanra said.  “But still stupid.”

“So stupid!  She got everything right except for two things!”  Vanra grinned.  “Why would we want revenge for Lanessa?”

“Wretched, horrible Lanessa.”  Zanra said.  “Who we hate.  And plus!”

Vanra finished with the words that June least wanted to hear.  “She’s not even dead!”

“She’s wounded.”  Zanra said with a wide grin and a pleased tone.  “Horribly wounded.”

“Drifting in space.”  Vanra gave a dreamy sigh.  “Broken.”

“It’s wonderful.”

“But she’s alive.”

June’s voice was sudden and it was distressed.  “It’s not true.”

“It is.”  They both said.  “We can feel her wretched life, pulsing in her chest.”

Vanra pulled the violin from her chest, and Zanra pulled the harp from from hers.  They both began to play the same, familiar beat that June had known before.

“The pulse of an anti-star.”  Vanra said.

“The beat that runs through the primal darkness beyond reality!”  Zanra called out.

June could feel the melody that was supposed to accompany that beat, but when she put her hands to the strings, it just was not there.

“We told you.”  Vanra’s bow danced along the strings.

“We ate the song.”  Zanra’s fingers plucked the strings.

“We live in it, and it lives in us.

“And we will never use it.”

“You would need to reclaim the instrument.”  Vanra said.

“And we would need to give it, willingly.”  Zanra said.

“It is ours.”  They both said.

“And you see...”  They stopped playing, and grinned at each other.

“Oh, Vanra, do we show them?”  Zanra sounded particularly giddy.

“Yes!  Oh yes!”  Vanra laughed and took her sister’s hand.  “We show them.”

“Tell us, smart human.”  They began together.

“What did that wretched girl do?”  Zanra asked.

“What did that horrible girl do to the Jaws of Despair.”  Vanra finished.

“They..”  Janice stared at them in dawning horror.  “She rent the Jaws of Despair in twain.”

“We are not Vanra de Vran Sie.”  Vanra said.

“We are not Zanra de Vran Sie.”  Zanra said at the same time.

Vanra reached up, and removed Zanra’s eyepatch.  Zanra did the same with Vanra’s.  Their covered eyes were nothing but pits of bright blue light, ragged holes in their faces that emitted light the color of blue stars of mourning.

The twins began to spin in a circle, laughing the whole time they did.  Light and darkness swirled around them, and their instruments played without their hands, emitting a maddeningly fast tempo that only got louder and louder.

The song and the light faded.

She was tall and muscular, and looked to be in her early twenties.  She was wearing a torn, black and white dress, all lace and ribbons.  Her hair was black and white, with ribbons and bows all throughout its chaotic tangles.  Her eyes were bright blue, glowing with lights like blue stars of mourning.

“I am Anra de Vran Sie.”  She said.  She was holding an instrument that looked like a harp that tapered into a neck.  In her other hand, she had something that looked like a violin bow and a hacksaw had a baby.  “I am the Jaws of Despair.”

“I hate that she’s hot.”  June said.

“Oh, oh it feels so good to exist again!”  Anra cackled and twirled around.  “I’m me!  Not two, we’re--I’m.  I’m whole!  And I have two eyes!  Two beautiful eyes.”

“This is...”  Destiny looked at Kismet.  “Kizzy, what is this?”

“Adorable?”

“Not quite.”

“Weird?”

“Adorably weird?”

Kismet and Destiny both nodded.

“Ahahahaha!!!!”  Anra turned to the Stellar Rangers.  She grinned widely, and all of her sharp fangs were on display.  “Yes!  You.”  She rolled her neck and popped it, and then put her violin-harp to her neck.  “I forgot, I was going to kill you.  We’re--I.”  She put the Penumbral instrument down.  “I. I am me.  I am one person.  I am one person.  I’m one..”  She held her head and stumbled a bit.  “One.  One.”

“Dezzy.”  Kismet summoned her axes.

Destiny summoned hers, as well.  “I’m with you, Kizzy.”

Destiny and Kismet both darted forward, axes raised.  Faye saw what they were doing, summoned her claws, and bounded towards Anra.  June began to play a song.

“Wait.”  Janice said.  “She’s unstable, don’t--”

Anra grinned, and the pulled the bow across a random tangle of notes.  There was a surge of darkness and of light, and then, the world was filled with it.

June tried to play a shield song, but the explosion hit her before she could.  She, and all the others, were sent flying back.  They hit the pavement with a heavy thud, and Anra floated in the air above a crater.  Her hair was twisting in the wind behind her, a wind that was not strong enough for the fury with which it moved.

“Yes.  Yes yes yes!  This.”  Anra floated towards them, and put her instrument to her neck.  “We remember this.  I remember this.  Murder.  Death.  Power.  Do you know Lanessa’s problem, humans?”

June pushed herself to her feet.  She put her hand to the strings.

“Lanessa’s problem is her schemes!”  Anra plucked a few strings with her saw-bow.  “Power to her was always a means to an end.  There’s always a plan.  She gambled away the Penumbral might in her flute for nothing!  We have cultivated it.”  Anra started to play a tune, and a shield of black and white formed around her.  “I have cultivated it.  I have pulled it from other Penumbras.  I have killed a dozen holders of the Penumbra.  I have drained their weapon dry.  I have hoarded it.  Our instrument is strong.  We are strong.  I am strong.  I know things you cannot do.  I can play two songs at once.  I can play songs given to us.”

June’s guitar crackled, and a lance of destructive light and antilight fired towards Anra.  It bounced off of the shield, and the Dark Star Riot shot off, into the sky.

Anra’s grin widened.  Crackled darkness and searing light shot off of her from all sides.  “Do you see, humans?  Wretched, simple humans?  Power is not a means to an end.  Power is power.  Power is everything.  It is power, and this is yours.  And it is ours.  We would rip it from your corpse, but I want Mommy to eat it.  I want her to rip your heart out of your chest and fill it with our essence.  I want her to make you like us.  A new sister.”

June’s hand faltered.

“I want you to know what it’s like to be hollowed.”  Anra touched down in front of June.  Her shield and the crackling energy dissipated.  “I want you to be made into us.”

June stumbled back away from her, her hands away from the strings.  Anra quirked her head to the side.  “Don’t be afraid.  It hurts, of course.  It hurts worse than anything.”  Anra put her hand over her chest.  “It hurts and you lose everything, all of your light and all of your life, there’s a void and you just need to fill it and fill it and fill it with pain and flesh and light.”

June reached for her strings, but she could not look away from Anra’s eyes.

“Don’t worry.”  Anra’s voice was soft and affectionate.  There was an echo to it, a distortion that built and faded.  Sometimes, it was an older voice, but other times, it was Vanra and Zanra, speaking as one.  “I’ll make sure you’re a good sister.  We’ll take care of you, June, when you’re like us.”

“I-I...”  June stumbled back.

Four axes slammed into Anra’s back.  Anra let out a scream, and jammed her saw-bow across the strings.  There was a flash of black and white, and June was sent reeling back.

The Marches, however, were ready for that, and had already retreated to opposite sides of the street.

Anra’s wounds sealed, and she looked between the two Marches.  “Twins.  I was a twin, once.  Do you remember?”  Anra began to play, again, and a crackling shield surrounded her.  “I wonder...what’s it like?  Losing a--”

Faye raised her head and howled.

Anra flinched, and the shield flickered as she did.  Janice lifted her foot, and she stomped it down into the ground.

A pillar of molten rock surged through the ground and smashed into Anra, knocking her back.  Anra let out a surprised noise, as Faye leaped onto her chest and slashed into her again and again.

“Faye-Faye, off!”  Destiny shouted.  Faye kicked off Anra in a summersault, and as she did, a spray of icy shards shot into Anra’s chest, followed by a blast of flame that consumed her.

June snapped out of her trance, and began to play.  Her fingers danced over the strings, and the tuning blades shot out of the bottom of the Penumbra.

The flame cleared in a blast of light and dark.  Anra was hovering, a black and white shield surrounding her again.  She started to play a song, a song that echoed with the song of the shield.  Light and darkness crackled all around her in several different spinning discs of conflicting, primal energy.

“You have your finale but it’s not as good as ours.  Mine.”  Anra cackled as the darkness and light surged around her.  “The Grand Finale. Who can you save, human???  Who can you save while you’re trying to hurt me?”

June did not listen, this time.  The Finale hit a crescendo, and a massive beam of light and dark fired forth from the Penumbra, towards Anra.

Anra kept playing, and the beam smashed against her shield.  It crackled and burned, and pushed back against the Finale with as much force as June’s attack was pressing into it.”

Light and darkness began to gather around her at two points.  One of the beams pointed directly at where Faye, Kismet, and Janice were.  The other, at where Destiny was.

“Choose, sister-to-be!”  Anra cackled.  “You have one song!  I can shield ourselves all day!  I have two songs.  Choose who to save, and who is annihilated!”

June’s eyes widened, and she looked at the group of three, and then, at her other girlfriend.

Destiny looked June in the eye and said three words.  “I got this.”

June broke off the Finale and bolted.  She ran for Kismet, Faye, and Janice as fast as she could.  Kismet saw this, and shouted, “No, Destiny!  Save Destiny!  Save--”

June played the shield song and stood in front of her friends.  Destiny glowed with a cold, icy light.

“Grand Finale!”  Anra shouted, and then, the world was awash in light and darkness.

 

*****

 

Malcolm was tired and sore.  His fingers hurt, and he was covered in pinches and bruises, especially from where links of chain had come together, tight against his skin.

However, his bindings came down in a tumble next to him, along with some of his skin, hair, and blood.

“Good job.  You can worry about the pain, later.”  

_ Okay.  Uh, just a second.  I need to catch my breath. _

“There isn’t time.  Turn left and run to the end of the hall, as fast as you can.  I’m at the room at the end of it.”

_ But...I mean, okay. _  Malcolm stood up straight and started to limp down the hall as quickly as he could.  The circulation in his legs had been a little messed up, and he had stubbed his toe against the chains, but, he ran anyway.

The lights were off, here, too, but he could hear the prisoners all around him as he ran, screaming and moaning from within their darkened cells.

“Please, get us out of here.  Please.”

“Don’t let them take me!  I’ll do anything, keep the Vran Sie away from me!”

“They...they took my arm.  They took it and just ate it in front of me.”

Malcolm wanted to stop.  He wanted to listen to them and to get their stories down and find out what exactly was happening here, and who both they and their captors actually were.

Instead, he kept running, until he reached a room marked, in alien script, ‘Interrogation Room’.  He walked inside, and his eyes widened when he saw the hulking form of the Warden, bound in shackles and hanging from the ceiling.

“There’s a dial on each shackle.  Turn them all the way, counter-clockwise.”

Malcolm tried to jump up to reach them, but could not.  “Um.  Sorry.”  He then grabbed onto the Warden and climbed up his side, until he reached the shackle.

“Don’t be sorry, boy.  Whatever it takes.”

Malcolm turned the dial as instructed.  The Warden grimaced and said, “The other way, please.”

“Right!  Counter.”  Malcolm turned it the actual right way, and the shackle popped open.

“I can get the other one.  You can get off of me.”

He hopped down, and Sotusc reached over and undid his bindings.  He stretched and let out a sighed of relief.  “Good, now, the hard part.  How well can you swim?”

“Moderately well?  I think.  Why?”

“The hull’s been breached in several spots.  We’ll need to take down the antistellar field and then swim for it as quickly as possible.  Quickly, now, time is freedom.”

 

*****

 

The street had been ruined.  Nearby buildings were shattered and broken, and lampposts and power lines had been lifted and tossed every which way, safe only in that the lines had snapped during the tempest.

Anra hovered over the wreckage with a wide, toothy grin.  Her form flickered, black and white, and her grin faded.  She grabbed her chest and whispered to herself as the flickering slowed, and then faded.

“Destiny!”  June called as she ran towards where her girlfriend had been.  Her Penumbral form was gone, as all available energy having been drained from it.  The others were right behind her, with Kismet shoving her out of the way to reach the other side of the street.

All that was there was shattered ice, in the shape of Destiny.

Before they had time to process this, Anra was there.  “Look at it.  Nothing left.  Poor surviving sister.  Forever without your twin.”

Kismet narrowed her eyes and summoned her axes.  Heat washed over her.

This faded somewhat when a pair of axes buried themselves in Anra’s neck from behind.  “Sorry.”  Destiny said as she strained to push her blades deeper into the star vampire’s neck.  “I’m a March.  It’s a lot harder to kill me than that.”

Anra screamed and flailed and dropped her instrument to grab at the axes.  As soon as she did, she glowed black and white, and Vanra was flung from her in one direction, and Zanra flung in the other direction.

Kismet rushed forward and hugged her sister tightly.  “Don’t do that again you idiot.”

“What, not get hurt?  I’ll try to get hurt more, then.”

June grabbed her as well, but Kismet shoved her away.

“Oh, no, you don’t get to hug her.  I’m really, really pissed at you, June.”  Kismet narrowed her eyes.  “You should have saved her.”

“I...there was three of you on one side and one on the other, I--”

“Kizzy, I told her to.  She made the right call.”

“I’m just glad everyone’s okay!”  Faye said as she rushed forward and grabbed Destiny and Kismet.  “You did so great, Dezzy!”

“Guys.”  Janice said, summoning her mace.  “It’s not over, maybe a little less celebrating?”

“No.”  Zanra said as she got up.  “No no no no where...”  She spun around in a frenzy.  “Where did I...what happened to...”

Vanra looked down at herself.  Tears welled up in her eye and her vacant, glowing socket.  “I’m not...We’re not...”

Both Vanra and Zanra looked right at Destiny.  “You.”  They said in a chilling voice. “You you YOU!!!!!”

“That really can’t be good.”  Janice said.

“They’re still the same tiny idiots, now.”  Destiny summoned her axes, again. 

“And we’re going to take them down.”  Kismet’s axes were also in her hands.  “And them I’m going to kick your girlfriend’s ass.”

“No one is kicking Junie’s ass!”  Faye said.

“Guys, we need to focus.”  June reached for her guitar, but nothing appeared except for a few motes of black and white.  She concentrated, and reached again, and managed to pull it out.  She took a deep, shuddering breath, and put her hands above the strings.

“We were whole again.”  Vanra took a step towards Destiny.  She reached into her chest, and she ripped out a white and black axe, one that was taller than she was, with a wicked blade.

“We were Anra!”  Zanra was sobbing as she did the same thing that Vanra did, only her axe was black and white.  “We were Anra and you...you!”

Vanra sniffled and raised her axe.  “You need to be punished.”

“We’re going to eat you whole.”

“While your sister watches.”

“We’re going to EAT you!”  They snarled as one, and then leaped at Destiny.  “WHOLE!”

Kismet charged atZanra in a burning haze.  She smashed into the axe, and then rebounded, as though she had hit rubber.  Faye matched Vanra’s charge and actually slammed her back, but Vanra spun and slammed Faye with the back of her axe, sending her careening into the ground hard enough to make a crater.

An ice spike shot up right under Destiny and sent her forward before the twins could hit her.  Their blades sliced the spike into three clean pieces, and then they immediately charged after her, again.

Two pillars of volcanic rock shot up in front of them.  The twins smashed right into them, and then stumbled back.

June’s wings beat, and, while she was in the air, she finished her song, and a lance of cosmic annihilation washed over the two of them.  When it faded, there was a perfectly round hole in the ground where they had been.

Destiny looked at it, and then up at June.  “Nice one, Junebug!  We can cross that off the list, right?”

“No.”  June said.  “No, it’s never that easy.  I just--”

“Missed!!!!”  Vanra and Zanra said from behind Destiny.  They were burned and scarred, and in the tears in their dresses, gnashing jaws and sharp fangs could be seen.  The twins grabbed Destiny and their hands turned to talons of light and smoke.

“No!”  June’s wings beat and she shot forward.  Kismet started to run, and Faye charged ahead, faster than all of them.  She raised her claws, and dug them into the twins’ backs.  She ripped at them with a frenzied desperation.

Vanra and Zanra turned to her and opened their mouths.  From within their cavernous maws, a blue light started to shine.  Faye’s eyes widened, and she ducked back just in time to avoid two beams of corrupted Despair-light fired from within their terrible throats.

June was not so lucky, and managed a shield just before it struck her and knocked her to the ground.

Destiny writhed and tried to pull free, but it was no use.  They reached their shadowy hands into her chest, and pulled an icy light from it.  Destiny went limp as they dug their claws in.  Zanra bent in, and sank her fangs into Destiny’s Star Heart.

Kismet let out a scream of rage and buried both of her axes into the twins.  They dropped the heart, and it sunk back into Destiny’s chest.

The twins disappeared, and reappeared back in the sky.  Kismet kept screaming in pain and rage as she flung fireball after fireball at them.

The twins did not even flinch.  They opened their mouths as widely as they could, and then farther, and their throats glowed with bright blue light, light the color of blue stars of mourning.

Janice looked at that, and then she bent down.  She concentrated, and a dome of rock formed over Destiny and Kismet.

“No they have to PAY!”  Kismet shouted as she was blocked off.

“That won’t stop us.”  The twins said without moving their mouths.  “You’re going to DIE and your DIRT won’t STOP US.”

“No.”  Ms. Kerberus said as she ran up to the group.  She slapped her riding crop against her palm.  “But I might.”

As she said that, a huge bird made of oily bands of metal slammed into the twins from behind.  They spun around and fired their mouth beams at the monster.  It was torn to shreds, but they were distracted long enough for a barrage of metal spikes to slam into them from behind, followed by a barrage of lightning bolts and arrows.

Vanra and Zanra turned, and saw the full group of Stellar Rangers approaching.  

“Sister.”  Vanra said.  “Sister, we need to go.”

“She’s dead, anyway.  You’re dead anyway!”  Zanra shouted as lightning arced around them.  “You’re all dead when Mommy is free!  You’re dead, you’re--”

And then, they vanished.

The dome of volcanic rock faded back into the ground, and Kismet was shaking Destiny. Destiny was completely limp and unresponsive, no matter how much Kismet yelled and shook her.  “Dezzy.  Dezzy, please, snap out of it.”  Destiny’s head lolled to one side, and her mouth hung open.

“Dezzy, please!”  Kismet was sobbing as she shook Destiny.  “Wake up, please.”

“Kismet.”  Gemini said as she ran up to the Marches.  “Kismet, let me look at her.”

“She’s gonna wake up in a second, she--”

“Kismet!”  Gemini put a hand on her shoulder.  “She is hemorrhaging light and I can stop it before her soul burns out but I need you to let me look at her.”

Ms. Kerberus stepped up next to Gemini.  “Let her look, Kismet.  Please.”

Kismet looked up at Ms. Kerberus, and then, she looked at June, who had changed back again.  Avril was helping her to her shaky feet.

“This is it, Senine.”  Veracity said.  “This is when it starts.”

Kismet walked up to June and grabbed her by the collar.  “You did this.  You did this, because of you!  Because of you....”

“Cassie!”  Gemini shouted.  She had Destiny in her lap, and she was glowing white and violet.  “Cassie, please, I need you here, now.”

Faye was standing a short distance away and looked at Destiny with a horrified, helpless expression.  Cassie, who had been patching her up, rushed over to her sister and Destiny.

“You should have protected her.”  Kismet shook June and then let her go.  “You should have protected my sister, all that power and...and...and you didn’t.  You didn’t save her.”

June backed away from Kismet.

“I...I tried, but...but they hit me and--”

“You failed, June!”  Lines of heat surrounded Kismet.  “You failed Destiny and...and it shoulda been you.  It shoulda been YOU they hurt.”

“Kismet.”  Ms. Kerberus walked over to her.  “That’s enough.”

“No!  No, it isn’t!”  Kismet shouted.  “What good is the Penumbra if she can’t save someone she was supposed to love?!”

“Kismet, she did her best--”

“Destiny’s hurt and she if she doesn’t get better...if she doesn’t get better, Junebug.”  Kismet spat.  “If she doesn’t get better, I never want to see you again.”

June looked past her, to her girlfriend, who was limp and still on the ground as Cassie and Gemini expended a vast amount of magic to keep her stable.  She looked to Faye, who was looking at Destiny in horror, frozen in fear and concern and shock.

June turned, and she ran, down the ruined street, and away from her failure, away from the sign that all of her power had meant nothing.

June ran away from the people she loved, and she did not stop when they called after her.  She did not stop until she had reached Stellar Ranger HQ, and the room she had been confined to, right after the star had fallen, where she collapsed to the bed and sobbed out of fear, shame, and fading shock, until she was too exhausted to cry, and fell into unconsciousness.


	13. Episode Thirteen:  The Girl Faye Loved the Most

It was the day before June Hespia moved to Solar City, two years ago, and Faye was in the junior high locker room, fixing her makeup after another strenuous cheerleading practice.

The only other person in the locker room was Lynneth Ursula Card.  She leaned next to Faye and said, “Great hustle out there, Faye.  You’re a natural at this.”

“Aw, thanks, Lynneth!”  Faye beamed at her.  “That means so much to me!”

Lynneth was the most beautiful girl that Faye had ever seen.  She was nice and strong and pretty, and Faye had the biggest crush she had ever had on her.

Lynneth snapped her fingers, and Faye’s eyes went glassy.  Her posture became a little more relaxed.  “Faye, who do you love the most?”

Faye had a dreamy smile with her vacant stare.  “You, Lynneth.  I love you the most.”

Lanessa de Vran Sie patted Faye on the back.  “I know you do, sweetie.”  She looked back to the mirror and started to adjust her own makeup.  She snapped her fingers, and Faye shook out of her hypnotic stupor and went back to fixing her makeup, and also, stealing glances at Lynneth.

 

*****

 

“Junie?”  Faye said as she poked her head into June’s bedroom.  The room was empty, and the bed was vacant.  She sniffed the air and paced around the room.

“Any sign of her?”  Avril asked as she stepped inside.  Kara was with her.

“No, she hasn’t been here in a while.”  Faye frowned.  “I...I guess she still doesn’t wanna talk?”

Kara pulled out her phone.  “She still hasn’t sent a text or anything.  I’m worried, does she do this a lot?”

Faye and Avril both nodded.

“But she’s usually home by now, though!  I’m really worried.”  Faye sat down on June’s bed.  “But...maybe she went to check on Dezzy?  Oh, I should go too, maybe there’s been a change!”

“In like the ten minutes it took us to get here?”  Kara asked and sat down next to Faye.  “Faye, we’d get a call from the Schumachers if there was a change.  It’s like midnight.”

“It’s one in the morning.”  Avril corrected.

“That’s like midnight.  You need to sleep. Leah said she’d get you off of school tomorrow, but, staying up being worried isn’t going to do anything.”  

“But...but what if they need me?”  Faye looked up at Avril and Kara.  “What if they need me and I’m at home, sleeping?”

“I mean, what could they need you for?”  
Kara had not meant it as an insult, but Faye flinched from it, anyway.  “You’re right.  I...I can’t do anything.”

Kara’s eyes widened.  “Faye, I didn’t mean--”

“It’s how it always is.”  Faye looked down at her lap.  “I love and I try but in the end I can’t help anyone I love.  Mr.  Vember died.  Senine’s gonna die.  June’s sad and alone.  Destiny’s...Destiny’s...”

Faye began to sob, and Kara looked at her awkwardly.  This awkwardness did not fade when Faye grabbed Kara and started to sob into her chest.

“Faye you’re.  Good?  We don’t hang out much but you seem really sweet and god please Avril I am begging you help me.”

Avril walked over and put her hand on Faye’s shoulder.  “It’s going to be okay.”

Faye looked up at her and said, “I...I don’t know if I can keep believing that.  Yeah, we’re probably gonna beat the bad guys and yeah we’re gonna stop what they’re doing but...I don’t know if this is gonna be okay, Avvy.  I don’t know if it can be okay.  Destiny’s heart is damaged and...and I don’t know if that can be fixed.”  Faye pulled away from Kara.  “I...I should go.  Get some sleep, or something.  You’re right.”

“You could sleep here.  I doubt June would mind.”  Avril said.

“I can...stay over, too?  If that would make you feel better?”

“No, it’s okay.”  Faye gave them a weak smile.  “I’ll be fine!  I’ll just go home and sleep, that’s all.  Thanks a lot, you two...you two really helped.”

Faye left the room, and then, the apartment.

Kara sighed.  “She’s going right back to HQ.  I know a lie when I hear it, and also, Faye’s bad at lying.”

“I’ll call Senine.”  Avril said.  “And tell her to look out for Faye.  She’s staying over there, tonight.”

“And...how does that make you feel?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.  Do you want to go to the diner?  I can get us cheap food and coffee.”

“That honestly sounds...really really good, right now.”

 

*****

 

On the day June had started school, two years ago, Faye came to school alone, as she normally did.  When she reached the front gates, however, she stopped.

There was a new girl in junior high, today.  She was tall and had skin that was bone white.  Her eyes were like roses, and her hair was like spider-silk.  She wore black, and she had a parasol like old fashioned people in the movies did.

Faye did not even know her name, yet, but she was already in love.

The new girl was walking with Cassie and Auggie, two people she was close acquaintances with.  Once the new girl had gone off to the office, Faye ran over to them.

“Cassie!  Auggie!”  Faye was bouncing when she reached them.  Auggie turned to her and grinned.

“‘Sup, Faye-Faye?”

“Hello, Faye.”

“Who was that!?  Also, hi!”

Auggie smiled.  “That’s June, she’s new in town and we thought we’d show her the ropes!”

“She’s so pretty!”  Faye looked where she had gone, but saw no sign of her.  “I wanna meet her!  Is she nice?  She looks nice!”

“I can confirm.”  Cassie said.  “She is nice, isn’t she?”

Auggie nodded.  “She’s really nice!  Aaaand...Cassie, do you wanna tell her?”

“You can have the honors.”

Faye looked at Auggie with a curious, hopeful look.

“She likes boys _and_ girls.”

Faye’s mouth opened in surprise, and then she hopped up and down.  “She does??!!!  That’s such good news!!!!  Oh!  I could...”  Faye let out a soft gasp.  “I could date her.”

Auggie patted Faye on the back.  “Yep!  The sky’s the limit, Faye-Faye!  Go after her spooky pale butt.  She’d be lucky to have you!”

 

*****

 

Faye walked up to the infirmary at Stellar Ranger HQ and knocked on the door.

“They won’t let you in.”

Faye turned, and saw, sitting a bit down the hall, Kismet, sitting on the floor.  “Oh.  Kizzy, has...has there been--”

“She’s stable.  That’s it.  Not fixed.  Still unconscious.  Still not.”  Kismet took a deep breath and looked away.  “She’s still bad off, Faye.  She’s broken, now, and I don’t know.  I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, you know?”

Faye walked over and sat next to her.  “Yeah.  I’m...I’m sorry.  I should’ve done better but...but I don’t have cool magic.  My claws didn’t even do anything.”

“Yeah, well, they didn’t really care about being on fire.”  Kismet leaned against the wall.  “Y’know, I didn’t think Lanessa could be as bad as you were saying but if she was half as bad as they are.  They just...they just ignored everything and they were so strong and...”

Faye hugged Kismet.  “It’s okay.  It’s gonna be okay.”

“...I want that to be true, but.  What if there isn’t a way to...fix her?  What if her Star Heart’s too broken, Faye?”

“...That’s not true, please.  It’s not true and we shouldn’t think it’s true.”

“But what if it is?”  Kismet said.  “What if I’m alone, now?  I...I haven’t been alone, before.  Dezzy’s always been there, no matter what.  She’s always been there.”

The infirmary door opened, and Cassie poked her head out.  She glanced around, and then saw Faye and Kismet.  She wobbled on her feet as she walked over, and she stumbled down next to them.

“She’s stable.  I’m not certain...that she’ll stay that way.  Gemini has mostly sealed the wound, but...neither of us have seen anything like this.  We’ve never even heard of something taking a bite out of a star heart.  It could heal itself.  We could be able to seal it.  Or...maybe everyone who inherits it will have it this badly.  It’s too soon to tell.”

“Wow.  Great.”  Kismet looked away.  “Thanks for the good news.”

“I’m sorry, Kismet.”

“It’s not your fault.  It’s not anyone’s fault.”

“No, you were right.”  June said as she turned the corner.  “It’s my fault.”

 

*****

 

It was class time, again, two years ago, and Faye was could hardly sit still.  Throughout the last two periods, Faye had been desperate to catch a sign of the new girl, June, but, thus far she had completely eluded her.  Faye did not pay close attention in class at the best of times, but, today, class was whirling by her.

“Class, some of you might have met her earlier, but, we have a new student, today.”

Faye perked up and smiled.  She made sure the seat next to her was still empty.

“This is June.  June, would you like to introduce yourself?”  
“Uh.”  June said as she entered the room.  “Hey?  I’m June Hespia, I like playing the guitar?  I don’t know if that’s a thing people say at this thing.  I live with my brother, in an apartment in one of those big buildings a few blocks from downtown.  He’s the new assistant coach for the football team?  He’s big and darker than I am.  You know, the whole albino thing.  You can see that.  I hope you can?  I mean if I suddenly got all brown and dark that would be cool, but okay I need to sit down and stop rambling.”

Every single word made Faye fall head-over-heels a bit more.  She raised her hand and said, “Mrs. Juniper!  I have a free desk next to me!  Junie can sit over here!”

There were a few laughs from the other students, but Faye did not mind them.  June looked at her and then that look became a stare, and a blush, and she went over to the seat.

“Hi!”  Faye said, sticking her hand out.  “I’m Faye!”

“Uh.  Yeah.  I mean, hey?  June.  But.”  She took Faye’s hand.  “You knew that?”

“Yeah!  Auggie and Cassie told me!  Gosh, you’re pretty.  Do people tell you that?  They probably do, but it’s true!”

“Faye.”  Mrs. Juniper said.  “Class is starting, you can socialize later.”

“Ooops.  Sorry!”

 

*****

 

“Junie?”  Faye stood up.

“It was my fault.  I caused this.”

Kismet looked up at her, and then down.  She sighed.  “No.  I was pissed at you and I still kinda am, but...it wasn’t your fault, I guess.”

“It was.  I wanted to go there because I wanted to learn something about the Penumbra.  It was about me and I brought you into it and I shouldn’t.  I shouldn’t bring people in.”

“Junie, no.”  Faye walked forward, but June took a step back.

“Destiny was counting on me--you’re all always counting on me!  I have the Penumbra I should be the one you can rely on but you just keep getting me out of messes.  I just.  I froze.  And I let them shoot me out of the sky and....And I’m worthless, and I’m sorry.”

Faye tried to hug her but June stepped out of the way.

“No.  I’m sorry, but.  I can’t.  I can’t have people around me, right now.  I can’t have people relying on me, and I have...I have to be alone I have to figure out how to solve this I have to find a way to use the Penumbra better.  A way that can beat the Anras without putting anyone else in harm’s way.”

“June.”  Cassie stood up.  “We need to help each other.  We’re a team.”

“Yeah!  Cassie’s right!”  Faye said.  “We can solve anything together, Junie!  We beat Lanessa together, remember?  All of us together--”

“Didn’t even kill her.”  June snapped.  “And even then, even then, we needed Hal to distract her!  It’s not enough, Faye.  I’m not enough.  I need to be enough.  I need to make it so no one gets hurt again.  Because even if we beat Sie and we beat the Anras, even then... Lanessa’s going to be back.  She’s alive and she’s going to be back and I need to be ready for that.”

“We need to be ready for it, yes, but, June.”  Cassie stepped closer to her, and June backed away from her, too.  “We need to do this together.  The Anras are too much for you--they’re too much for any one of us.”

“Don’t you see that’s why I have to do this?”  June’s voice was edged with desperation.  “That’s why I need to be enough.  No one else...no one else needs this to happen!”  June pointed at the door.  “Destiny’s...it was just a small bite and now we don’t know if she’s going to be okay and I should have been able to stop that.  I should have been able to beat them, alone.  What if they take a bite out of someone, next time?  Not just puncture their heart but rip it apart?  How is anyone going to stop that?  They barely seem to feel pain--Faye was ripping them apart and they didn’t even flinch!  How can you stop that, Cassie?  How can any of us stop that, because I know I couldn’t.”

“Junie, please.”  Faye said.  Tears were welling up in her eyes.  “I don’t understand, what are you saying?”

“I need to be stronger.  I need to be better and...and this isn’t cutting it.  I don’t have time for school or friends or...or girlfriends.  I need to train and that’s all I can afford to do while the Anras are here.”

“You’re a fucking coward, Junebug.”  Kismet said, looking up at her.  Red eyes met reddish-pink eyes.  June could not hold her gaze, and looked away.

“Are you...”  Faye was crying, now.  “Are you breaking up with me?”

“...I don’t know.  I don’t know what I’m doing, Faye.  I just...when I go out to fight the Anras I can’t have other people in the crossfire and when I do that...I need to be stronger.  I need to be stronger than they are and I can be but I can’t have distractions I just need to train I need to learn everything I can from the Penumbra and no one can help me with that.  Everyone’s just.  Everyone’s just going to get in the way and get hurt.”

“Junie, please.”  Faye said.  “Please don’t do this.”

“This isn’t healthy, June, what you’re suggesting.  People need people.”

“I’m not a person.”  June turned back towards her room.  “I’m not.  I’m just...I’m just a vehicle for the Penumbra and you’re better off forgetting I exist.  I’ll...I’ll take care of the Anras.  Don’t worry.  I’ll keep everyone safe and...”

June started back to her room.  Faye stared at her as she went, and then sank to her knees.

Kismet looked over at Faye, but she did not move.

Cassie knelt next to her and hugged her.  “Faye, she’s not thinking straight.  She’ll come around when she has some time, this has been a difficult day for her.”

“It’s been hard for me, too, but.  But I’m not going to give up.”  Faye said through the tears.  “I’m not.  I won’t give up even if Junie wants to.”

“You’re too good for her.”  Kismet said.  “So’s Dezzy.  She’s just running away and trying to talk about it so that it sounds brave.  Don’t--”

“Don’t talk about Junie that way.”  Faye snarled.  “She’s scared.  We’re all scared.  We’re scared and...oh, what if she fights them without us?  What if she tries to fight the Anras without us?”

“We’ll have to watch her.”  Cassie said.  “We’ll keep a close eye on her and make certain she doesn’t do that.”

Kismet looked up at them.  “Why do you believe in her so much?  I guess she can do impressive stuff but...but look at what she’s doing.  She breaks down so easily and...”

“She’s a good person and she just wants to keep us safe.”

“Is that what you heard?”  Kismet said.  “Because I didn’t.  All I heard was June saying how much she wanted to die.”

 

*****

 

“Junie!”  Faye waved to June from her seat at lunch.  “Junie, we saved you a seat!”

June had been at school for a couple days, now, and every time Faye saw her, she felt better, like a little spark in her heart lighted up a bit brighter every time she was close.

June moved through the cafeteria and sat down next to Faye, across from Cassie and Auggie.

“How was your day???”  Faye said.  

“Wow, Faye-Faye, I mean, it’s school.”  Auggie grinned at her.  “You know how school is.”

“Yeah but everyone’s day is different from everyone’s!”

“It’s...okay?  I almost didn’t fall asleep in class again, so, that’s progress.”

“You were very valiant.”  Cassie gave her a sympathetic nod.  “I viewed your progress and you did indeed almost make it.”

“Do you not sleep well, Junie?”

“No.  Not really.  Stuff just bothers me, you know?  It bothers me and I have a hard time sleeping, I just think about it.”

“What kind stuff?”

“Bad stuff.  It’s not important.”

“Oh.  Well.  If you ever want to talk about bad stuff just tell me!  I’d be happy to listen to your problems!  We’re friends!”

June smiled.  “Yeah.  Sure.  Maybe.”

 

*****

 

Faye knocked on June’s door at the HQ.  It was almost four in the morning, but she could not sleep. She had been laying in bed, tossing and turning and thinking about what June had said, and those horrible teeth, going into Destiny’s heart.

After a few moments, June opened the door.  She also looked like she had not been able to sleep.

“Can I...”  Faye looked June in the eye.  “Can I please come in?”

June stared at her, as though she had no idea of what the answer to that question was.  Then, she moved away from the door, and sat down on her bed.  Faye came in after her, and closed the door behind her.  She sat next to June.

“Junie, I...”  Faye was looking at her hands.  “If you want to train and stuff I think that’s fine.  I think it’s fine if you want to do that, really, I know I don’t know about important stuff, but...but I think that’s a good thing to do.  I think we all should.”

June was also looking down, at her lap.  “Yeah.  Probably.”

“And I know...I know you want to practice alone because you think we can’t help but...but I think we can help!  I think everyone can help everyone else with training.”

June did not reply.

“And...and even if you don’t think that, even if you do want to be alone with friends or--”  Her words caught in her throat.  “Or anyone else, I think...I think that if that’s what you want we shouldn’t force you to.  To hang out with us but....”

June was still quiet.

“Please don’t leave me.”

June’s hands balled into fists.

“I know you think I’ll be a distraction but I won’t be, I promise.  I can maybe even help somehow!  I know you’re hurting right now but you don’t have to be hurt alone.  We both care about Destiny.  We both care about her a lot and I know.  I know that I.  I love you, Junie.  I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you and I love you with all my heart and I don’t want to...to have to not be around you.  I know...I know I’m being selfish but please don’t.”

“F-Faye...”

“And, and Kismet thinks you want to die and that if you do that’ll make things better in your head but it won’t, it won’t, you’ll just be dead and we’ll be sad and I love you so much, June.  You mean so much to me and it hurts to see you hurt.  It hurts that you’re just going to hide away from everyone.  Please don’t...please don’t hide from me.”

June opened her mouth, but she could not speak.  She started to cry, and curled into Faye.  Faye held her as tightly as she could without causing June harm.

“It’s okay.  It’s okay, Junie.  I’m here for you, okay?  I’m here for you and I love you.”  Faye petted her girlfriend’s hair.  “I’m here and I’m always going to be here, I promise, Junie.  No one will ever take me away from you.”

When they fell asleep, June did so curled up in Faye’s arms.  It was not a peaceful sleep, but, whenever she woke up, June went back to sleep faster than she ever had before.

 

*****

 

After cheerleading practice, two years ago, Faye was fixing her makeup, and Lynneth came up to the mirror.

“You’re all ready for the pep rally tomorrow, right, Faye?”

“Yeah, Lynneth!  I’m super ready for it!”

“Thatta girl!”  Lynneth raised her hand, and snapped her fingers.

Faye stopped what she was doing.  Her eyes went glassy and vacant, and her whole body got just a little more slack.  A dreamy smile crossed her face.

“Do you love me, Faye?”

Faye nodded.  “Yes, Lynneth, of course.”

“Do you love me more than anyone else?”

“No.”  Faye said in the same calm, dreamy voice.

Lanessa stopped what she was doing and looked at Faye in shock.  “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I love Junie more than anyone else!”

“Faye.”  Lanessa locked eyes with her.  “You love me more than anyone else.”

“I love...Junie.  More than anyone else.”

“Me.”  Lanessa’s eyes flashed.  “You love _me_.”

“I do, Lynneth, but..I love Junie more.”

Lanessa looked at her with an expression of shock and rage.  That expression faded to a contemplative one, and then, she sat on the counter and snapped her fingers.  “So, you’re talking with that new girl a lot.”

“Yeah!  Her name’s June Hespia and she’s just the best.  Isn’t she so pretty?”

 

*****

When Faye woke in the morning, she was holding June.

She knew things were bad.  She knew that Destiny was hurt and just thinking about that was like a knife of ice through her heart.  She knew the Anras were doing something so horrible she did not understand, yet, just how horrible it was.  She knew that their worst nightmare, which was not as bad as the thing in the ship, was out there, alive.

But Faye looked at one of the two girls she loved, asleep in her arms, and she knew that, somehow, everything would be alright.


	14. Episode 14:  Shining

When Kara woke up in Avril’s bed, she knew that it was vitally important that no one should ever learn of it, especially Kismet and Veracity.  
Last night had been a blur, but, Kara remembered two things as she looked down at Avril, through the haze of shock that had covered much of yesterday like a shroud. One, that she had gone to the diner with Avril, and then, she had taken her back to her room and shown it to her, and then, they had fallen asleep, just talking.  
Kara was not entirely sure why Avril did not like people seeing her room. The walls had posters of various animes on them--mostly the gay ones, that were full of girls. She also had posters of mermaids, and these went from kind of racy pictures to kid cartoon mermaids and everything in between. She had a big stack of sketchbooks on her desk, one of which was both open and full of pictures of mermaids.  
“You know.” Kara said as Avril woke up. “Kismet draws, too? If she’d known, she definitely would’ve started with that.”  
“...Please don’t tell anyone.” Avril stood up. “Please.”  
“It’s just anime stuff? It’s nerdy but, like...what’s the big deal?”  
“It’s. Complicated.” Avril went to her dresser and started to pick out clothes. “I don’t think I’m going to school, either. I want to check on June, and also, talk to Kismet.”  
“Oh, come on! You can’t let her down harder, now!”  
“I wasn’t planning on it.” Avril picked up her phone, after placing clothes on her bed, and sent a few texts. “I’m going to ask her out.”  
“Wait. Really?”  
Avril nodded. “Yes. She could use good news, and, well, I guess. I could use some, too. I’m a bit worried, though.”  
“About how Senine’s going to react?”  
“She...should be fine. I’m probably going to try to date her, too. But slowly. I can’t do this quickly and also...” Avril looked back at Kara. “June’s not going to be up for it, but, she offered to double-date with me for support. I can’t ask Senine to do it, and....well, you’re my friend, a bit more than I’d anticipated. Could you maybe come along, too? You know Kismet.”  
“Yeah! Sure!” Kara said. She had absolutely no idea who she could ask.  
Oh, she had a long list of people she wanted to ask but she had no idea which she could.  
“Do you have someone you can ask? Sorry to put you on the spot.”  
“Yeah!” Kara said, and then immediately mentally kicked herself. “Totally. I’m the lead singer of the Shining Stars! I have all kinds of dates lined up.”

*****

“Why did I say that.” Kara lamented as she paced back and forth in one of the lounges in the building. She was with Auggie, Amber, Gemini, and Janice.  
“Because you are an idiot.”  
“Shut up, Gemma.” Kara glared at her. “I promised her a double date and I have to deliver! Kizzy deserves good news and as Shining Stars Team Leader, I have to give it to her. Hey! Amber and Auggie, maybe you could do it?”  
“Uh.” Auggie looked to Amber, who shrugged. “I guess? She didn’t ask us, though, and Avril’s kinda private. I don’t think she’d go for it.”  
“Yeah, like, there’s a reason she hasn’t asked any of, like, us?” Amber said from her spot between Gemini and Auggie.  
Kara had no idea what the deal with that was, but they were all sitting together, and they kept sharing significant looks, and Kara honestly did not even want to ask what was up with that.   
“Isn’t there someone you can ask?” Janice asked.  
Kara turned to look at Janice, also known as the girl she wanted to ask. She took a deep breath, and stared into her dark eyes, and said, “Well, I was sort of wondering--”  
“I will go with you.” Gemini said. She stood up and grinned. “After all, there isn’t anyone here as hot as me. I will be the perfect date.”  
“Wh--wait, I--”  
“Oh, nice!” Janice beamed. “Two of my best friends going on a date together! I approve.”  
Kara stared at her, and then, at Gemini. Gemini was smugly smiling at her.  
“Gemma, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?”  
“Sure. Wow, can’t wait to get me alone, can you?” Gemini walked into the hall, and Kara followed her out.  
“What the hell was that!?” Kara exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “You don’t want to go on a date with me, we hate each other!”  
“Oh, I know, but, I also know that Janice is too good for you. And I’m not going to let you put the moves on her.”  
Kara’s eyes widened. “You....you’re.”  
“Of course, if you are brave enough to ask her out on your own, be my guest. Otherwise, I will see you on that date.” Gemini moved past Kara, still grinning her smugest grin.  
“You’re awful, Gemma.” Kara said. “This is for Kismet, so, sure, okay. We’re having a date, but you aren’t going to ruin this for her. Dress nicely. Don’t make this about you. And we’ll get it over with soon enough.”  
“Don’t make this about me? You are the one who wanted to invite your crush.”  
“Because I wanted it to be a pleasant time! The first people I asked were Amber and Auggie, don’t even try, Gemma.” Kara poked her in the chest. “Don’t make this about you. We’re going to make Avril and Kismet feel better. That’s all.”  
“Sure, date. But you had better be well dressed, too.” Gemini winked. “And I definitely expect a good night kiss when it’s all over.”  
“I don’t want to kiss you.”  
Gemini rolled her eyes. “How do you even know you don’t want to kiss me? You haven’t even tried! I’m pretty, aren’t I?”  
“Yes, obviously.”  
“Ha!” Gemini pointed at her. “I got you to admit it!”  
Kara groaned. “You have eyes that are like, gold or something? And you’re tall and you’re hot and you have the prettiest hair and you always work it so well? And you’re pretty good at not letting the world see that it gets to you, and I can tell, it gets to you a lot. And under all of that bitch you’ve decided to stock up on, there’s a genuinely good person. So it’s a good thing there’s a not bitchy person who looks just like you for people to hang around.”  
Gemini’s expression went on a rollercoaster through what Kara said. At first, she was dismissive, but as Kara went on, her expression got softer and possibly something resembling vulnerability. When Kara had finished, however, a flash of hurt crossed Gemini’s face, which Kara immediately regretted.  
That hurt was replaced by anger. “At least I have a good person in me. You’re rotten, Kara May. All you have is a heap of self pity over an absolutely despicable human being. I already regret this date.”  
“I...” Kara stared her in the eyes, and then, looked away. “Whatever. It’s better we get it out of our systems now. Get lost, Gemma. Go back to your harem or whatever they are to you. I’ll go to my team, and when this whole Fallen Star thing’s over, you’ll never have to see me again, if I’m that awf--”  
Gemini grabbed Kara, pinned her to the wall, and kissed her.  
Kara’s eyes went wide. She had absolutely no idea what to do with this kiss. She had no idea what this kiss meant, only that Gemini was tall and soft and warm, and that she had never been kissed quite this way, before.  
Gemini pulled away, and she pretended like she was not wiping a tear away. “You are not bad at kissing.”  
“Yeah uh. You either?” Kara looked away, and then sighed, “God, are we this screwed up?”  
“Ha! Yeah. I know I am.”  
“...What was that? What we just did.” Kara still did not look Gemini in the eye. She was desperately trying to figure out how the situation have changed.  
“You are cute. And I am. Rehearsing. For the date, obviously.” Gemini did not sound as though she completely believed it, and Kara did not even partially believe it.  
“Well, we just need to be convincing for the date. Then, we don’t have to go out, or do that again, and once the Anras are down, I’m gone, and you’ll be happ--”  
Gemini started to kiss her again. Neither of them had any clue why this was happening, but, also, neither of them stopped it.

*****

Kara wandered the halls after that. She periodically touched her lips, as though there was some remnant there that would explain what she was feeling, or why she had spent half an hour making out with someone she typically only argued with.  
“You seem to be adjusting well.”  
Kara spun on her heel, and saw Veracity, leaning against a wall. She was shuffling her cards. “V, what’re you...You’re literally here to make that dramatic entrance. You foresaw where I’d be literally so you could do that right now.”  
“Yes.”  
“What’s up, then? Why’d you tear yourself away from doing...whatever it is you did with your girlfriend all day?”  
“You know what we did.”  
Kara rolled her eyes. “V. Spill.”  
“I’m just happy that you’re adjusting. I’m happy that you’re finding a place, here.” Veracity said. She did not stop shuffling her cards. “It’s good to see you confused, wondering what everything means.”  
“Wow, thanks, V. It doesn’t matter that I’m finding a place or not. We’re not staying when this is done.”  
Veracity pulled a card from the deck. She did not look at it. She did not need to look at it. “Are you sure about that? You could probably stay, if you wanted.”  
“The band needs me, I’m the lead singer. I’m the leader of our group! And with Dezzy...with Dezzy out of commission, we’ll need to stick together even more.”  
“You should go see her. Her, and Kizzy. She’ll want to hear the good news.”  
Kara eyed her for a moment. “What’s wrong?”  
“You know what’s wrong, Kara. We’re at a catastrophe point. After this, nothing’s the same. Not for us, not for Senine’s rangers, and not for anyone else in Solar City, if anywhere.”  
Kara’s eyes widened. “What...what’d you see?”  
“I don’t see anything.” Veracity took her glasses off and ran them in front of her white, sightless eyes. “But I know the last card I drew.”  
Veracity turned and showed Kara. It depicted an angel, rendered in black and white, holding a guitar. Below her, a large, spectral hands gripped the edges of coffins. The roman numeral XX was visible at the top of the card.  
“Veracity, I don’t have any idea what that means.”  
“Judgement. It’s Judgement, Death, the Devil, the Wheel of Fortune, and the Knights of Wands and Swords. The last two are Kizzy and Dezzy, respectively. Some huge change is coming, with some insidious force behind it. This is the end of something, probably the end of many things. And it’s starting now, Kara. It started when Dezzy got her heart broken.”  
“Then why--”  
“It can’t be stopped, but, we can have comfort while we have it. Before...” Veracity trailed off. “Go to Kizzy. Tell her the good news. She needs it. We need it.”

*****

Kismet was sitting outside her sister’s room in the infirmary when Kara arrived. She looked as though she had been crying, but her expression was no currently sad. Kara had no idea what it was, but, it was not sad.  
“Hey. Any news?” Kara sat down next to Kismet.  
Kismet shook her head. “Naw. Faye and Junebug were by. I didn’t yell at her, this time. I still don’t wanna be around her, though.”  
“Has Avril been by?”  
Kismet looked over at Kara. “Yeah. I told her no.”  
“You what?”  
“I don’t want to not be here if she gets better, Kara. That would be real goddamn awful of me.”  
Kara rolled her eyes. “So don’t not be here. We order some food, we set up a movie on a laptop, and we have a date right out here.”  
“‘We?’ You..actually found a date?”  
Kara glared. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”  
“Yeah but...who????”  
“Gemini.”  
“What, for real?”  
“Listen, I don’t get it, either. But...I guess we’re going on the date? We made out a bit, it was weird. But she’s not a bad kisser? This doesn’t matter. What matters is, you can have your cake and eat it, too. We’ll have a date night in here, and you’ll have fun with the girl you’ve been crushing on.” Kara nudged her. “C’mon. You could stand to do something that isn’t sitting here, waiting for news.”  
Kismet smiled at her, and said, “Yeah. Thanks, Kara. Y’know, Dezzy and I make fun of you a lot.”  
“I noticed.”  
“But you’re a great leader. Better than Junebug.”  
Kara had to fight from crying with joy at hearing that. “I mean, of course? I’m Kara May, I’m a lead singer.” She stood up. “I’m going to find Avril and tell her we’re all set for tonight. Let me know if there’s any change, okay?”  
Kismet nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

*****

Kara knocked on Senine’s door. She had gone through the whole building, and had not found hide nor sea green hair of Avril.   
“Hey, I’m a little busy, here.”  
“Senine, I need to talk to Avril.”  
“Guh. Fine.”  
There was a pause, and the door opened. Avril was there, blushing furiously, with a hickey on her neck.  
“...She wanted to mark her territory, huh?”  
Avril nodded. “W-what’s up?”  
“This doesn’t seem super slow, Avril.”  
“Things have escalated. What’s up.”  
Kara rolled her eyes. “God, okay, whatever. I have a date, and I convinced Kismet to do the date. We’re ordering food and watching movies in the infirmary.”  
Avril let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Kara.”  
“Hey, I’m just looking out for my band, you know?” She spoke a bit quieter, and said, “Is everything okay? Really?”  
“...Yes. Senine asks before she does anything, and if I start to freak out, she backs off. It’s. Nice, so far.”  
“Okay. If either of them makes you uncomfortable and doesn’t back off, let me know and I’ll kick their ass.”  
Senine called from within the room, “Easy there, Rainbow Bright.”  
“So, who’s your date?” Avril asked.  
“Uh. Gemini?”  
“...Don’t you two hate each other?”  
“Naw, Seafoam.” Senine said as she approached behind Avril. “They playfully hate each other. They’re rivals, this is a rivalmance.”  
Kara glared at her. “That’s not a thing.”  
“Okay, Kaleidoscope, what is it, then?”  
“It’s.” Kara did not have an answer to that.  
Senine grinned at her. “See? They’re attracted to each other, but they’re both competitive, so, they keep butting heads and fight-flirting. Classic rivalmance between her and Living Death Girl.”  
“Ugh! I’ll see you tonight, Avril.” Kara turned and walked away.  
She went back to her room, went inside, and closed the door. Once the door was closed, she slid down it, pulled her knees to her chest and broke down.

*****

Kara walked down the hall, and stopped when she reached June’s door. She knocked on it, and waited.  
There was a pause, and then, the door opened. Faye poked her head out. “Oh! Hi, Kara!”  
“Hey, Faye, is June here?”  
“Oh. Uh. No! And I don’t know where she went.” Faye had a large, nervous smile.  
Kara gave her a blank look. “For a lesbian with abusive parents, you’re really bad at lying, Faye.”  
“What??? No, uh...”  
“I...I just need to talk to the other member of Team Depression, you know? It’s been a rough and weird day. Please, Faye?”  
Kara sighed. “Okay! If it’s important, I don’t want my friends being sad! Junie’s off talking to Hal.”  
“Wait, who’s Hal?”  
“The guy who almost burned Junie to death, but you saved her.”  
Recognition flashed through Kara’s head, and then, confusion. “Oh, yeah! Wait, he’s here?”

Kara went down into the HQ basement. She moved quietly, and she kept light bent around her as she hit the bottom stair.  
“I’m sorry, June.” Halloway Decembren, the Last Prince of Bellasar, said to her. June was sitting on the floor, in front of his cell. “I don’t know anything about them. My l..I mean, Lanessa, never said anything about her family except for vague disdain.”  
Kara got a closer look. June had dark circles under her eyes, which were especially vibrant given her pigment-less skin. “...Yeah. That’s to be expected, I guess. She wouldn’t talk about her evil monster relatives when she was trying to not seem like an evil monster. I guess this was a stupid idea.” June pushed herself to her feet. “Thanks, Hal. I guess I’ll have to find a way on my own.”  
“June, wait.” Hal said. “Before you go, all of the tragedy I caused, it was all because I insisted on doing everything alone, and my way. Don’t do this on your own. Trust me.”  
“...Sure. Yeah.” June turned towards the door. Kara stepped out of the way, and let her go past.  
Once June was gone, Kara started for the stairs, herself, when she heard a woman’s voice that she did not recognize, from Hal’s room.  
“My love. I’m sorry for using you as I did. Understand that I had only the best in mind for everyone. I do hope that, one day, you’ll be able to forgive me for what I’ve done. I am yours forever.”  
Kara heard sobbing from the cell. She wanted to investigate, but, she did not really feel like creeping on someone else’s drama. Instead, she went back to, and up, the stairs.  
June was there, her back to the wall and looking expectantly towards the stairs. “Are you spying on me now, Kara?”  
“I.” Kara dropped her camouflage. “Yes? Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt things. Also, I have no idea what Hal’s like. I didn’t want him to notice me there.”  
“Well. Yeah, sure. What’s up?”  
“Sorry, again. Don’t get mad at Faye, she’s just, really bad at lying?”  
“Right???” June smiled a bit. “She’s a good person to a degree that I didn’t know was possible.”  
“Anyway, I just wanted to talk to someone who’s part of Team Depression and wait, how did you know I was there?”  
“I could tell there was another heart, and also, you always wear the same perfume.”  
“...It smells really good, okay? It smells like watermelon, I love watermelon.”  
June nodded. “Everyone loves watermelon. Anyway...”  
“...I’m a bad leader, June. I wasn’t even there, when Dezzy...” She trailed off. “And Janice left, and honestly...I don’t think my team’s going to survive this. The way Veracity’s talking, what if the Shining Stars are done?”  
“...Yeah. I don’t think I’m a good leader, either? The others started to look at me as one, but I’m not. I don’t know what I’m doing. They look up to me, and...and I froze, Kara.” June looked at her feet. “I froze. And now, Dezzy’s broken, because of that. I really liked her? Me and Faye, we both really liked her. And I couldn’t save her. Even with the Penumbra, I couldn’t save her, or Mr. Vember, or those people in that cafe.”  
Kara gave June a weak smile. “We really are Team Depression, huh?”  
June did not smile back, but she nodded. “Yeah. Anyway. I’m going to go back to my room, and hang out with Faye, for a bit. Sorry, I don’t have any advice for you, but, I get it.”  
“I know. That’s why we’re Team Depression.” Kara nudged her. “Don’t worry about it, teammate. We’re the best, obviously, and we’ll get better, and also...it’s nice that someone else feels like I do? But in a way that doesn’t make it sound like I’m glad you’re depressed.”  
“Yeah.” June turned and started to walk away. “I get you. Later.”  
As June left, Kara watched her with a concerned look. She was depressed, sure, but it looked like June was beating her at something else, now, something she was very much not jealous about.

*******

“What if they don’t show?” Kismet asked, with uncharacteristic nervousness.  
She and Kara were in the infirmary, outside of the private room that Destiny was in, with Cassie watching over her. Kismet was dressed in a red spaghetti strap top, and a knee-length blue skirt.   
Kara was wearing a t-shirt and skinny jeans. She had agonized over what to wear for this date, especially after that terrible, wonderful kiss. “They’re coming! And if not, well, we’ll just have to eat this pizza and watch this movie ourselves!”  
On cue, Avril walked into the room. She was wearing a dress shirt, and nice slacks, and Kara had no idea if this was just a casual outfit for Avril, or if this was her dressing up. Kismet stared at her like a deer in headlights for a moment, and then, rushed up to her. “Hey, Avril! I knew you couldn’t stay away. C’mon, let’s get the best spot on the pillows before Gemini gets here.”  
“I--” Avril let her hand get taken, and she let herself be dragged to the date setup. Kara and Kismet had place a bunch of pillows on the ground, and, on a chair in front of them, had set up a laptop to stream for them. In the center of the arrangement was a stack of boxes of pizza.  
Kara watched them go, and when a pair of arms slid around her, she let out a squeak and jumped. Gemini was there, and she was also wearing a t-shirt and skinny jeans.  
“Wow, I’m not surprised you dressed like me, I am irresistible, after all.” Gemini flipped her hair over her shoulder with a dramatic shake of her head as she said that. Kara rolled her eyes.  
“I dressed nicely for the date. Come on, they’re waiting on us.”  
“I am fashionably late.”  
“I don’t care, come--mph!!!!”  
Gemini kissed her.  
“Wooo! Get it, girl!” Kismet shouted. She was currently sitting next to Avril, resting her head against Avril’s shoulder. Avril was blushing and flustered but withstanding it, nonetheless.  
Kara pulled away, and looked into Gemini’s eyes. “...Gosh, you’re pretty.”  
Gemini blushed dark, and smiled. “You aren’t so bad, yourself. Even if you are awful.”  
“Okay, stop getting it, and come over here so we can start the movie.”  
Kara took Gemini’s hand and led her to the pillows. She nestled herself, sitting between Gemini’s legs and rest against her chest. “Okay, what do you want to watch, Kizzy?”  
“Oh, snap, I get to choose? Okay, hmm, maybe a superhero thing? They got a lot of those streaming, right now.”   
No one had any serious objections to that, and they got to watching. As the episodes passed, and the pizza dwindled, Kismet slowly migrated to Avril’s lap. She spent a lot of time making sure things were okay, before gradually advancing. Avril blushed a lot, at first, but eventually, she relaxed enough to put an arm around her.  
Gemini and Kara were a mess, and Kara was acutely aware of this fact. More than once, they started to argue during the show, and, more than once, Gemini tickled Kara, or poked her, or brushed the back of her neck, and every time, Kara snapped at her, and Gemini laughed.  
But something had changed between them, and despite the fact that they had made out, and were on a date, Kara could not place exactly what it was.  
It was three hours into watching. Avril was laying on her side, propped up by her elbow, and Kismet was in front of her. Avril’s other arm was draped over Kismet. Kara was on her stomach, her head against a pillow, and her eyes closing. Gemini was loosely draped over her, and snoring very slightly.  
Kara was drifting off to sleep. Gemini was warm, and soft, despite everything else about her. When she heard the door open, she supposed it must be Cassie, and wondered what she would think of the sight.  
Then, however, rather than hear Cassie, she heard Kizzy say, “Oh my god.”  
And then, she heard Dezzy say, “Oof! Hey, sis, what’s...what’s going on?”  
Kara bolted upright, and saw Destiny, standing, and being embraced by her sister.  
“Okay...I appreciate the affection, sis, but why is everyone looking at me like I just came back from the dead?”


	15. Episode Fifteen:  The Brink

Sun Lake’s main boardwalk sat calmly as it normally did at night.  Formerly, homeless people would sleep here, but now, everyone was avoiding it.  No one was quite sure why, but there was something foreboding about it, especially at night.

Therefore, no one was here when the boardwalk exploded in a flash of deep, dark energy.

“Sister.”  Vanra hovered near the wreckage of the boardwalk.  Zanra was in the center of it, her harp in her hand, and her face set in a snarl.  “Please, sister, do calm down.”

“Calm down?? CALM DOWN???”  Zanra growled, and then, played another smash of strings.  The discordant jangle shattered what wreckage remained in a surge of primal darkness.  “They ESCAPED two days ago!!!! And we STILL haven’t found them, sister!”

“But, really, they’re mortals.”  Vanra touched down next to her sister and put her hand on her shoulder.  “What can they even do?”

“What can they DO???”  Zanra roared. “What can they DO???”  Zanra paused, and thought about it for a moment.  “You know, my darling sister, I’m not certain!”

“It’s possible the warden knows something we do not!  And he’s rather adept at evading us, but!” Vanra raised a hand to stop Zanra from going into a rage, again.  “We don’t need to find  _ them _ , sister.  After all, that information is probably useless without someone to execute it!”

Zanra’s eyes brightened, and her mouth split in a wide, fanged grin.  “Sister, you’re so smart! We just need to follow the Stellar Rangers, and they’ll lead us right to them!”

 

*************

 

Malcolm wanted three things--to be home, to see his best friend, and to not smell fish.

He and Sotusc had been inside a warehouse for the past two days.  Malcolm figured it was for a local superstore, because, the corner they were in was stacked with boxes of cans of sardines.

Malcolm and Sotusc had been eating sardines and drinking from the sink in the bathroom for two days, straight.  Malcolm had always kind of liked sardines, but now, he mostly felt sick when he even thought about them.

“So...when do we leave?”

“Soon.”  Sotusc said as he ate an entire tin of sardines at once, can and all.  “We’ll know when it’s time to go looking. Be patient, eat your fish, and wait.”

“But...what if someone catches us, here?  And the police come?”

Sotusc shook his head.  “We’ll leave when someone gets close enough, but, the doors, locks, and cameras in this building are mine, with my magic.  We’ll have ample warning and time to leave. As long as we’re here, we’ll know if we’re about to be found. You’re certain you know the Stellar Rangers?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely!  I’ve been to their secret base, too!  The only problem is, it’s on the other side of town.  If I can get a phone--that’s like, a communicator.”

“I’m aware of what a telephone is.”

“Oh.”  Malcolm said, and then continued.  “But yeah, I know Senine’s number, and I can call her, and she’s definitely one of those.  I saw her fight a weird dog alien guy?”

“Hmm.  And do you know June Hespia?”

“Yeah!  I mean, she’s kinda hard to miss, even if she is a couple grades below me.  Cause, see, she’s albino. So, she’s important, somehow?”

“She’s Stellar Ranger Dark Star, the bearer of Nemesis.”  Sotusc gave him a grave look. “I can regale you with some of what I’ve heard about her while we wait, but, first, I need you to promise me something.”

“Uh, sure!  Totally.”

“If I do not make it, and you do, you need to tell June that she has the ability to override the defenses of the Fallen Star.  All she needs to do is say ‘Nemsis Override One-Two-Ten, and she’ll gain access.”

“Nemesis Override One-Two-Ten.  Got it!”

Sotusc smiled faintly.  “Good.”

“So, are you one of those Stellar Rangers?”  Malcolm asked. He was staring at a sardine tin, as if trying to will it into something more appetizing.

“I was, yes.  Typically, at a certain age, we’re made to retire, but, because of my rather unique gift, I have been allowed to be the Warden of the Fallen Star for a century.  It’s...unfortunate, that my tenure has come to an end there, but if I can keep Sie from escaping, then I’ll have fulfilled my purpose.”

There was a distant rumble, and Sotusc grinned.  “And that, young Malcolm, is the sound of our pursuers getting angry and desperate.  We move now. Stay close, and stay low. We’ll move from building to building, and when we find a phone, then we give the bearer of Nemesis what she needs to stop the Vran Sie for good.”

 

*********

 

June ran into the infirmary, with Faye by her side.  As soon as she entered, she saw, on the other end, Destiny, standing and walking and talking to Avril, Kismet, Gemini, Cassie, and Kara.

June froze for a moment, but Faye did not.  She bounded forward and shouted, “Dezzy! You’re okay!”

Destiny pulled from her sister for just a moment to let Faye jump on her and hug her tightly.  “Hey, Faye-Faye. What’s up?”

June could not go to her.  Guilt overwhelmed her, and Kismet was giving her a look that was on the border between angry and annoyed.

Kismet sighed, and relaxed.  “Okay, Junebug, you can come in.  She’s okay.”

Destiny looked past Faye, and her smile only got bigger.  “What’re you waiting for, an invitation?”

June ran across the room and joined the hug.  She started to cry, and Destiny patted her on the back and then squeezed her.  “I’m okay. Don’t worry. It takes more than that to take down a March.”

“You are certain you feel fine?”  Cassie hovered around the three of them, with Gemini in tow.

“Well, I feel a little like death, but not enough to faze me.”  Destiny loosened the hug, and now just had an arm around each of them.

“She’s fine.”  Kismet said. “Loosen up Cass, god.  This is a good sign, right?”

Cassie nodded.  “Tentatively, yes.  But we should still keep you here for observation.”

“Can I stay out here?  There’s pizza here, and I’m starving.”  Dezzy looked down to the mostly empty boxes.  

“Yeah!”  Kismet said before either of the Schumachers could talk.  “Let’s order a couple more pizzas for Dezzy, and put on another movie.”

“It’s four in the morning.”  Cassie said. “You need to rest.  Everyone needs to rest! The only place still open is Pizza Defeat.  Destiny, we would feel better if you stayed in your hospital bed, but, we can bring you food.  It is easier to monitor you there.”

“Don’t be a downer, Cass.”  Kismet snapped.

“No, it’s...probably for the best?  I do still kinda feel like death.” Destiny looked to the Schumachers.  “Can I take a couple slices, though?”

“And!  Can...we stay with her?”  Faye asked with big puppydog eyes.  
Cassie and Gemini shared a look.  Gemini said, “Yes, but, only cuddling, no kissing, nothing strenuous.  I’m going to be in the room with you, and if it seems like you are interrupting her rest, I will physically restrain you.”

“I will even grow the vines to do so.”  Cassie had a stern look to match her twin’s.

“Trust me.”  Destiny leaned a bit more against June and Faye.  “Some quiet cuddling? That sounds really damn good, right about now.”

There was the sound of rushing feet, and Senine burst into the room with her cell in one hand.  “There’s going to be a raincheck on that cuddling. I just got a call from Malcolm. He, and the warden of the Fallen Star have escaped and we need to escort them back here.  He was going to say more but he got cut off by something.”

June looked to Kismet and Faye, and said, “Don’t worry, you two stay with her.  Dezzy, I’ll be back, okay?” She turned to Destiny. “I won’t be gone long.”

“Um.  Gee, Junie, I don’t know.”  Faye gave June a significant look.  “Are you sure you’ll be okay without us?”

“Yeah.”  June said. “I’m not going to be alone, or any--”

Destiny gave June a quick kiss on the lips.  “Don’t hold up on my account. Be sure to kick some butt for me, babe?  Get those stupid gremlins a little revenge on my--”

Destiny lost her balance with a wave of dizziness.  Faye caught her, and Cassie moved to her side. Green energy flowed into Destiny, and she steadied herself.

“You stay with them.”  Gemini walked towards Senine.  “Someone’s got to make sure they stay in one piece.  Are you okay staying here and healing on your own?”

Cassie nodded.  “Of course. Good luck, all of you.”

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?  Kelpie?”

Avril looked to Kismet, and then to Senine.  “I’ll stay.”

“I’m coming.”  Kara stood up. She gave Destiny a hug.  “Don’t you go dying anymore, Dizzy. Once is enough.”

Destiny gave her a weak smile.  “Kara, I’m basically immortal, now.”

“Okay, cool, real touching, but time is dead Malcolm.  C’mon, I managed to wake up the Leveys, they’re waiting for us.”  Senine headed out of the infirmary, with June, Kara, Avril, and Gemini behind her.  “Malcolm said he’s over at Twenty-Fifth and Leary. Leah’s going to give us a ride, and--”

“Oh!”  Vanra said, from a spot sitting on the door.  “Is that where he is? Truly?”

June already had the Penumbra out.  “You won’t get him.”

“Won’t we?”  Vanra grinned.  “My sister is already looking, and--”

June played a quick chord, and a blast of light and dark smashed into her.  Vanra hit the wall hard, and the glared. She vanished right as a beam of light and a crusher ball hit the spot she had just been in, destroying that section of wall but not the light half of Anra.

Senine turned towards the front of the Stellar Ranger HQ and began to bolt.  The others were right behind her.

 

*****

 

Sotusc ducked into an alley.  He pulled Malcolm with him with a hard tug that made Malcolm feel as though his arm was going to be pulled out of the socket.

“Where ARE you, you WORMS?!”  Malcolm heard Zanra scream from above them.  “Come OUT and face your OBLITERATION!”

“...Yikes.”  Malcolm said softly.

“They found us sooner than I had expected.  Somehow, they knew where we were the moment you called.”  Sotusc frowned. “We need to be cautious. Are you certain--”

“I’m sure, promise.  Senine’s like a superhero, so she’s definitely a Stellar Ranger.  Plus, she hangs out with June and her sister a lot.”

“Very well.  Stay low, and stay quiet.”

A moment later, Vanra appeared in a flash of light, next to her sister.  They were floating over the road and were just barely out of line of sight.

“Sister!  I overheard the wretched Rangers talking!”  Vanra said. “Stealing all of that light from the sneakier prisoners has been very handy!”

“Don’t waste my time!”  Zanra snapped. Vanra let out a gasp, and her shoulders drooped and her face fell.

“O-okay.  I apologize, Sister, I--”  She sounded like she was about to cry.  “I was only--”

“Oh, my beloved dearest heart!”  Zanra put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m such a fool.  I apologize. Yes, it has been very handy, you are correct!  I love you more than any. What have you learned?”

“They are near, my delightfully forgiven sister!  My other half, my--”

“I urge you to make haste!”  Zanra interrupted. “I know I detected their communication, but, they didn’t allow it to last long enough to track it.”

“Which is annoyingly clever of the Warden.”  Vanra frowned. “They are near, still, sister.  They planned to meet the Rangers there.” She pointed to a nearby intersection.  “They would not have gone far.”

“...The horrible humans will be here, soon.  If they have not gotten far....” Zanra pulled out her harp, and began to play.

“We need to move.”  Sotusc grabbed Malcolm and pulled him down the alley.

Vanra pulled out her violin, and grinned.  “Shall we freeze them out? That terrible girl’s delicious light could serve us well, here.”

“You read my mind, sister!”  As they played, clouds swirled overhead, and snow began to fall in a near-blizzard.  Light blue energy gathered around them, and then, exploded out in all directions.

In a flash, a space of four city blocks was covered in a thick layer of ice.  Malcolm was stuck in the ice up to halfway up his calves, with a thinner layer over the rest of him.  Sotusc was only trapped at his feet, but, as he tried to push through the flash-freezing, he pulled Malcolm, and, rather than come with, Malcolm let out a shout of pain and alarm as he was pulled forward, and felt his arm dislocate in earnest, this time.

Malcolm put his hand over his mouth, but it was too late.

“Well, look, sister!”  Zanra called from behind Malcolm.

“Indeed, sister.”  Vanra said from behind Sotusc.  “It looks as though we’ve found some frozen vermin!”

Sotusc looked up at them, and then, stood in front of Malcolm.  He held out his hand, and a mancatcher appeared in it, which he pointed at the Anras.  “Very well, then. I will buy time.”

“Oh!”  Zanra said.  “He’s buying time, sister!”

“Well, luckily for his wallet, he’s not going to be able to buy much.”

 

*****

 

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay!”  Faye said from her spot in Destiny’s bed.  Her head was resting on Destiny’s chest, and Destiny was running her hand through Faye’s golden blonde hair.

“Of course I’m okay.”  Destiny said with a tired smile.  “I’m a March, we’re basically indestructible.”

“Damn right we are!”  Kismet grinned. “Dezzy, you have no idea how lucky Junebug is.  I was gonna beat her up for not protecting you!”

Destiny’s smile fell.  “Hey! No beating up Junebug, she’s my girlfriend.”

“Yeah!”  Faye said.  “Don’t pick on Junie, she tries really hard and she’s under a lot of stress!”

“Ugh.”  Kismet rolled her eyes.  “Fine, but, only because I just had a date with her sister.”

“Thank you.”  Avril was sitting alone, near Kismet.

“Kismet.”  Cassie gestured for her to follow her.  “A word?”

Kismet hopped to her feet.  “If you’re going to yell at me about Junebug, there’s no need.”

Cassie led her out of the quarantine area and through the infirmary, into the hall beyond.  Once she was there, Cassie said, “Destiny isn’t better, Kismet. She’s only awake.”

Kismet froze for a moment, and then said, “What the heck do you mean?”

“She’s not getting better.  She has consciousness but it will not last.  I am putting life back into her but she is still hemorrhaging power at an alarming rate.”  Cassie looked back towards the room. “My best hope at the moment is to keep her as stable as I can until the Kingdom of Frost arrives, and hope they have some method of healing her.”

“...Or you could try harder.”  The temperature in the hallway raised with the panic in her voice.  “Try harder, go in and fix her, you’re a healer.”

Cassie shook her head.  “I am truly sorry, Kismet, but I will do everything I can--”

“Everything you can isn’t good enough!”  Kismet snapped. “She’s my twin and she’s hurt and you need to do better!”

“Sometimes, everything you can isn’t good enough.”  Cassie was crying now. “And that is the most miserable part of life, but, it is true.  Gemma and I will do our best but I have not ever seen anything like this, before. You have to understand, Kismet, that I would save her if I could, but it’s beyond my ability.”

“Get.  Better.”  Kismet said.  “Get better and save her!  Maybe do a team technique with your twin to--”

“I have.  We have. And we will do our best, but we may have to expect the worst.”

Before anything else could be said, there was a shout from the quarantine room.  Kismet and Cassie both rushed back.

Avril had her sword out, and she was standing in front of Faye and Destiny.  Dr. Lament was standing in front of her, obscured by shadows that had not been there, before.

“nagina.”  Dr. Lament said in their distorted, broken voice.  “the healer, please.”

Cassie was suddenly aware of a blade pressed to her throat.  Nagina was behind her with her kama at her neck. Kismet summoned her axes, and started to turn to Nagina.

“i do not recommend that.”  Dr. Lament said. A cyan light flashed, and both Kimset’s and Avril’s weapons vanished.  “after all, i am not here to hurt you. i am here to save your sister.”

 

*****

 

June was staring out of Leah’s car window when she was aware that her name had been called.  She looked over and saw Senine, turned around in the front seat.

“June, move it.”  Senine pointed towards the street in front of her, which was now a mass of ice.  “‘Cause I’m pretty sure this is a clue.”

June hopped out of the car and looked out onto the frozen, snowy landscape in front of her.  Kara and Senine got out right after she did. Kara put her hand on June’s shoulder.

“You okay?  You could have just stayed behind, with Dezzy, you know.”  

June nodded.  “I’m fine. I should be here, if the Anras are going to be.”

Senine summoned her hammer and rested it against his shoulder.  A small blue car pulled up next to them, and Octy, Auggie, and Gemini stepped out of it.

“Alright.”  Leah said as she walked towards the iced-over road.  “This is going to be slippery, so--”

June pulled the Penumbra from her chest, and allowed her Penumbral transformation to wash over her.  Her wings came into being, and she shot up and then zoomed down the street in the blink of an eye.

“June!  Fuck.” Senine took a running leap, and removed the effect of gravity from around herself.  She floated as fast as she could after June.

 

Sotusc snagged Zanra around the neck, and slammed her into a nearby wall. Vanra played a quick song, and a blast of piercing light smashed into his face, sending cracks through his sandstone-like bony plates.  He grimaced and spun his mancatcher around, slamming Zanra into Vanra. The both let out a surprised noise at the impact.

Zanra growled, and then the weapon dispersed into grey light, which she absorbed.  She charged at Sotusc, but found herself pulling Vanra into her, as they were now shackled together.

“Go, boy!”  Sotusc smashed his mancatcher into the ground next to Malcolm.  The ice shattered, and Malcolm was able to pull his feet free. “Find the Stellar Rangers, now!”

“Right!’  Malcolm turned to run.  As he did, however, he found that he was now shackled to Sotusc.

“We have so much of your light!”  Vanra snarled. 

“Did it think we would not use it?”  Zanra took Vanra’s hand.

The two of them began to twirl around.  Energy gathered around them, but before they could reform into Anra, a blast of light and dark energy smashed into them, and sent them spiking down into the ice.

“Oh no you don’t!’  June shouted as she shot onto the scene.  She drifted to the ground, and her wings disappeared.  “Malcolm, Warden, are you okay?”

“I am, yes.”  Sotusc said. “There’s no time.  Stellar Ranger Dark Star, you have--”

A muzzle formed over his snout.  Sotusc made an alarmed noise and started to pull it off.  Malcolm rushed towards June. “June, you have an override, it’s--”

Vanra and Zanra both smashed June into the alley’s wall.  Their eyepatches were off, revealing the glowing blue craters underneath.  They both snapped their fingers and shouted, “Forget!”

Malcolm’s eyes went glassy and unfocused.

June shook off her dazed feeling and played a sharp chord.  A blast of light and dark smashed up from the ground, into the twins, and knocked them away.  As she did, Sotusc pulled off his muzzle.

“Nemesis O--”

Vanra came down with her axe, and smashed it at Sotusc’s throat.  He ducked just in time, formed his mancatcher, and slammed it around her neck.  As he did, Zanra came up behind him, and closed her terrible maw around his shoulder.  Pain and alarm interrupted him as he flailed to get her off.

Vanra absorbed the mancatcher and darted back towards Sotusc, but the Pulsar Sledge connected with her chest and drove her straight into the ground.  Senine smashed her boot into Vanra’s face, and then turned and threw her hammer right into Zanra’s head. The impact knocked her off of Sotusc’s shoulder and sent her reeling.

“Never run off like that again.”  Senine snapped at June, and then turned to Malcolm.  “Hey. You okay?”

“...Huh?”  He looked up at Senine, and then, back at Sotusc.  “Oh, holy shit, that’s an alien!”

“Nemesis Over--”  Sotusc started to shout, but then, he stopped.  He opened his mouth to try to speak, but, nothing happened.

Zanra and Vanra were standing on the fire escape above the,.

“Oh, but, poor little beastie!”  Vanra was grinning. “Don’t you see?  We have your blood.”

Zanra swished the blood around in her mouth, and then, spat it out.  Rather than fall, it hovered and glowed in front of her. “You almost got in the way of our game!  But now, that ends.”

“This isn’t a game.”  June said. “Stop this and let--”

“Of course it’s a game.”  Vanra rolled her eye.

Zanra made an annoyed sound.  “If it wasn’t a game, then we’d have killed you all in your sleep ages ago!”

“If we don’t manage this with you around--”

“--Mother won’t see this as a very big accomplishment!”

“We could stop playing it like a game--”

“--But then--”

They both grinned.  “There wouldn’t be any of you left.”

There was a flash of lighting and a strong gust of wind, and suddenly Gemini was right in front of the Anras, with Auggie at her side.  Gemini put her hand into the blood, and rather than vibrant and alive, its color faded, and it became slush.

“No!”  The Anras both shouted at once.  Vanra brought her axe down, but found it hit a hard light shield around them.  A whirlwind blew in from the other side and knocked both of them away and off of the fire escape.

Kara and Octy both appeared next to Gemini and Auggie.

“Nice timing.”  Senine pointed her hammer at the Anras.  “Now, warden guy, what’s this about what you were saying and why didn’t you say it on the phone?”

“We had no time, as soon as we made contact, they were listening in and tracking us.”  Sotusc put his hand on his shoulder as the Stellar Rangers closed ranks between him and the Anras.  “It’s Nemesis Override One Two--”

Vanra and Zanra both played a harsh jangling series of notes, and, for a moment, the whole world was black and white.

 

******

 

“Let Cassie go, you jerk!”  Faye growled as she started to get up.

“if you make any more motions i will have nagina fill this room with a toxic gas that will kill all of you.  i am using one of my hearts to suppress your powers so, if you decide to fight, you will find it almost impossible to best nagina.”  Dr. Lament’s two pairs of glasses shone off a light that did not illuminate them. “destiny march, you are dying. all the healer can do is delay the inevitable.  all the kingdom of frost will do is destroy you for being tainted by despair.” Lament adjusted their glasses. “kismet march. i have the ability to save her but i require the both of you to come with me, immediately.”

“Are you for real?”  Destiny asked. “You’re obviously a bad guy, why the hell should we do anything you want?”

Kismet looked at Lament, and then back to Destiny.  “What she said. Just because--”

“healer.  is she getting better?”

Cassie glared at Lament.  “I do not have to answer you.”

“if you do not cooperate, i will have nagina slit your throat.  life and death stars are hard to kill but your powers have been dampened.  the task will be significantly easier. answer.”

“...No.  She is not.”

Lament nodded.  “i am your only hope.  you will come with me, both of you, or destiny march will die.”

Kismet’s eyes widened in a panic.  “That’s. We...”

Faye tightened her grip around Destiny.  “You can’t have her.”

Avril tried to summon her sword, again.  Nothing happened.

“i need an answer.  yes or no.”

Destiny looked to Kismet.  They shared each other’s gaze for several long moments.

“Get out.”  Avril said, taking a step forward.

Nagina’s tail lashed out and grabbed Avril by the ankle.  With a single tug, she was pulled off her feet and onto the ground.  Faye started to get up, but before she could get too far, a warning puff of green vapor flowed from Nagina’s gas mask.  Cassie started to cough and covered her nose and mouth.

“decide.  or i allow the healer to die.”

“...I don’t want to die.”  Destiny extricated herself from Faye, who tried to hold onto her, but found only an icy surface with no grip.  She stood on unsteady feet, and Kismet was there to keep her steady.

“And I don’t want her to die.  We’re in.” Kismet looked to Avril.  “Sorry, b--”

In a flash, Nagina, Dr. Lament, and the March twins were gone.  Cassie collapsed onto the ground, and Avril was there to catch her as her powers began to work again, and the damage done by the poison faded.

“Destiny!”  Faye scrambled to where she had been, but there was nothing but her scent.

“...I am fine, thank you.”  Cassie said as she pushed herself to her feet.  “Avril, I need to catch my breath. Go find Ms. Kerberus and tell her what happened.”

Avril nodded, and rushed out of the room without a second thought.

Faye slumped to the ground, and pawed at the ground where Destiny had been.  Cassie walked over to her, and sat next to her. She put an arm around her friend.  “I..apologize for what has happened.”

“...they’re coming back, right?  They’re gonna escape and come back, aren’t they?”  Faye said in a voice that had only a dull edge of hope.

“We can only hope so.”

 

*****

 

June’s fingers moved by instinct alone, and when she could see again, and the ringing in hear ears became less overpowering, she saw that it had saved her and her friends’ lives.  A dome shield of primal darkness and primal light covered June, the other Rangers, Malcolm, and Sotusc. The remains of the fire escape, and large chunks of the buildings flanking the alley, were raining down from overhead, and when they hit the shield, they merely bounced off, or settled to the sides.

June kept playing the shield song.  She knew that, the moment she stopped playing the Penumbra, the rubble would fall the rest of the way down on them.  Sotusc ran up to her, and started to shout the code, but the Penumbra and the ringing in her ears were too loud, and she could not read a dracon’s lips.

Something smashed into her shield with enough force that June could feel it, even from its center.  She looked past the warden, and saw Anra, holding a massive, double-edged axe, with one black blade, and one white blade.  She brought it back with both arms, and smashed it down into the shield. June intensified her song.

The warden picked up a slab of ice and started to scratch into it.  June felt a tap on her back, and turned to see Auggie, gesturing to Senine.  She, Octy, and Kara all seemed poised to do something. Senine lifted her hand, and started to count down.

Sotusc lifted the ice slab in front of June’s eyes.  It read: “Nemesis Override: One Two Ten.”

There was another slam into the side of the shield.  June had no idea what that meant, specifically, but she understood that it was important.  She nodded, and Sotusc dropped the ice and nodded to her as Senine’s hand counted down to one.

June changed her song, right as Anra’s axe came down.  It did not make contact with anything, and Anra stumbled forward, right into a blast of light and dark that sent her reeling.

Behind June, Senine lifted her arms, and the rubble that had been caught by the dome slowed its fall.  Octy gestured, and high winds, coupled with hard light barriers from Kara, guided the rubble safely down.

Anra shot forward, her axe raised overhead.  “The game isn’t supposed to be fair!” She slammed the axe down, right at Sotusc.  He lifted his mancatcher up to block, but, the axe cut right through it, and into his chest.  “They aren’t supposed to know the code! You stupid lizard!”

June’s wings beat to knock herself back, and her song grew in intensity.  She knew that needed to hit Anra with something big.

June’s song stopped.  That had not been effective in the past.  Any sign of a Riot or Finale and Anra would, doubtlessly, counter, and counter better.  June, instead, beat her wings to float down next to Kara.

Anra ripped her axe out of the warden, and planted her foot on his chest.  She raised her axe up, again. “We--I should have killed you when I took the Fallen Star.”

“Yes.  You should have.  And now, she has the override.”

Anra grinned a wide, toothy grin.  “Did you ever wonder how I managed to take your stupid jail?  How we managed. We, I don’t mean we it’s not WE it’s I.”

“I have, but it doesn’t--”

“Nemesis Override, One Two Ten.”  Anra’s grin only widened and exposed more teeth.  “I have enough Penumbra. It believes we are Nemesis.”

Gemini put a hand on Anra’s side and shouted, “Wound Memory!”  Her hand glowed with white and violet, and Anra screamed as a a huge rift formed in her chest.  She stumbled back, and June could see Anra’s body start to flicker, as the memory of the wound that had ripped her in twain tried to assert herself.

But, instead of fade, Anra turned to Gemini.  Her body began to pull together, and she lunged down at Gemini, her horrible maw wide for the kill.

There was a crack of thunder, and then, Gemini was not where she had been.  Auggie was by the other Rangers, with Gemini’s hand in hers.

“...I have an idea.”  June said. “Kara. You upset her just by dissing her, right?”

Kara nodded.  “Right.”

“Okay.  We need to get the two of them off kilter enough.”  June’s wings manifested again. “You guys help keep her off balance and follow my lead.”

“Alright.”  Senine lifted her hammer.  “But I’m still pissed at you for running off.”

“You can yell at me if we survive.”  June said, and then flew up and to the other side of Anra.

Anra’s wounds had vanished, and she had regained her composure.  She lifted her axe, again, ignoring the Stellar Rangers. “Now. Where was I?”

“Vanra’s prettier!”  June shouted.

Anra’s eyes snapped to June.  “What did you say?”

“Vanra’s prettier.  Of the two of you, Vanra’s prettier.”

“I am?  No. We’re the same.  We are identical, we’re the same.”  Anra growled. Her axe vanished, replaced with her violin-harp.  “She is not prettier we are the same!”

“I mean, you’re the same person, but, she’s prettier.  Really, when you turn to Anra you just get a little uglier because of Zanra.”  June was ready to start playing a shield.

“I am not--We are not.”  Anra started to play, but the song was erratic, and energy flickered and sparked as she played.

Senine smashed her hammer as hard as she could into the back of Anra’s ankle.  Anra stumble, and lashed out with a heavy fist that Senine just barely managed to dance away from.  Anra began to play a shield. As she did, Gemini grabbed the warden and started to pull him back.

“I’ll kill you all!  We are beautiful!” Anra snarled as her song began to pick up in tempo.  June could hear a Finale under the shield, and immediately went on the defensive.

A beam of rainbow light smashed into her shield.  “June’s right, Zanra’s fashion sense is clearly lacking.  Vanra knows where it’s at.”

Anra spun on her heel, and turned her back to June.  June shifted her shield song slightly.

“We are beautiful!”

“Honestly, you could really use a makeover.  Like, maybe some makeup at all?” Kara put up a hard light barrier in front of herself.

“Vanra, honey, you don’t need it.”  Auggie said from another side. “You’re beautiful as is.  It’s just Zanra, you know? You’ve got to pick up--”

Anra’s song turned into an angry burst of light and dark, which Auggie zipped away from before it could make contact.  Her shield flickered, and Senine smashed the Hammer of the Dying Star into it. Anra’s shield shattered, and she snarled with pain.  Black and white energy surged around her.

“WE ARE BEAUTIFUL!”  She shouted, and then, her form flickered.  June’s song shifted completely, and then, a lance of primal light and primal darkness smashed into her from behind, and past, into the night sky above.

When the spots faded from her vision, Vanra and Zanra were laying on the ground.  Vanra pushed herself up, and got a hammer to the chest for her troubles, which launched her up and into the broken building next door.  Zanra vanished in a flash of dark, and returned to her sister’s side.

“Come, sister.  They are now more even, but not--”

June began to play a Finale.  A blast of rainbow light slammed into and through Zanra, followed by a blast of lighting and five arrows.  Zanra and Vanra vanished in twin flashes of light and dark.

June let her song fade, and dropped out of her Penumbral form.  Gemini was kneeling over the warden. She looked to the others and shook her head.  “The axe...ruptured more than I can heal, especially at his age.”

June and Senine rushed over to him.  June knelt next to him and said, “Nemesis Override One Two Ten.”

“Y-yes.”  Sotusc nodded.  “That will give you control over...over...”

“Do we need to be inside for it to work?”  Senine asked.

“...Yes.  You’ll need a way past the shield.  Malcolm...Malcolm can show you one, if you can make him remember.  He did well, it’s a shame...”

Gemini went limp at the same time that the warden went still.

“...this is the last time.”  June said under her breath. “This is the last time they get away with something like this.”

“Yeah, well, it’s also the last time you run off without the rest of us.”  Senine shouldered her hammer. “That was risky, June. They may not have it together as much as she did, but they’re still a Lanessa-Level threat and it’s been proven that none of us can handle those alone.”

“I have the Penumbra.”  June said. “They have a fragment of the Penumbra I can’t take away.”  She looked Senine in the eye, and, for once, did not blush, or look away, or smile.  “No one else is equipped to deal with that.”

“Junie, we barely even needed the Penumbra, this time!”  Auggie said from where she was making sure Gemini was comfortable.  “I know it didn’t go great, but, we managed to kick her butt pretty easily!”

“My sister is right.”  Octavian said. “Without the rest of us here, Anra would have been focused solely on you.”

“I have more of the Penumbra than she does!”  June gestured sharply as she spoke. “If we’re one on one, with no one else around, maybe I can just cut loose!  Maybe I can put everything I have and--”

“And they’ve been eating the prisoners!”  Kara put a hand on June’s arm. “I know you--”

“You don’t know!”  June pulled away. “You don’t know what it’s like to have all this power and know you have to hold back to keep everyone around you from dying!”

“I do know that, actually.”  Senine crossed her arms over her chest.  “Though, not to the degree you do. But I know something better than that, June, and that’s what a deathwish looks like.”

June’s eyes went wide.  “I-I...”

“Killing yourself to stop Sie from being released isn’t the answer.”  Senine took a step forward, and June matched her step back. “You don’t need to act like this is a thing you need to--”

“If I hadn’t hesitated, Destiny wouldn’t have gotten hurt!  If I just...”

“Destiny did get hurt, and you can’t change what’s happened.  Bad stuff just happens, June.” Senine stepped forward, again, and June did not step away.  “There’s nothing we can do about it but learn to move on.”

“I can’t.  I can’t, it’s my fault that Destiny got hurt, I--”

Leah ran onto the scene and only slipped on the ice a little bit as she did.  “Sorry, I would have come sooner, but...there’s another emergency, I had to take Aunt Natalie’s phone call, and she’s hysterical.”

June’s blood ran cold.  “...Is...”

“Dr. Lament was at the base, the person you mentioned from Halloween, and...they offered a solution for what’s wrong with Destiny.  She and Kismet...they both went with them. We don’t know where they’ve gone, but...”

“....Destiny’s gone?”  June said in a small, weak voice.

“She and Kismet are gone.”  Leah gave June and Kara a sympathetic look.  “And we don’t know how to find them.”


End file.
